CH 263

I had no choice but to let Ji-Ae go with a few more items.

“I didn’t know Odin could speak so kindly.”

Seong-Il wasn’t being sarcastic.

“A real man should be nice to his family. You are definitely the best man! I can’t help but admire you. I’ll do the same to my family when I go outside. I’m sure I will.”

Seong-Il continued while looking in the direction where my cousin had disappeared, “By the way, I understand why she wants to leave. This city is devastated and really not livable for others. How about let’s stack up the corpses like outer walls around the city? I’m saying we should throw them outside instead of keeping them here. Of course, we’ll be using the ones that are still intact, not the ones that have become ashes.”

I responded lazily, “I’ll just lie down here for a bit. Shouldn’t you take a break, too?”

Seong-Il shrugged. “I’m doing that for fun, anyway. I’m sick of sleeping.”

I nodded. “Okay, it’s up to you.”

The piles of dead monsters that Seong-Il had stacked up somehow made a decent outer wall. The amount of ashes in the city street decreased as the days went by, and new bodies were thrown onto the top of the outer wall.

***

One day, on a morning when Seong-Il was building another wall with the bodies from the last raid, we received a notification message.

[A danger signal was detected on the light pillar.]

[Time left until danger level 1: 24 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds

* Destroy one layer of the trap.]

When the light pillar entered the first level of danger, the attack power of all the guild members would decrease. However, messages stating that I didn’t have to intervene constantly popped up.

[Guild: Kim Ji-Ae Attack Squad of Ilsung Corps 2 is trying to destroy the trap section (First Floor of District 1).]

[Guild: Angela Attack Squad of Soul Corps is trying to destroy the trap section (First Floor of District 1).]

…

[Guild: Li Wei Feng Attack Squad of Jian Tien Corps is trying to destroy the trap section (First Floor of District 1).]

The guild’s troops had gathered in the last remaining district of the trap section, and I figured out Ji-Ae’s whereabouts from that message.

***

It had been two months since we had entered Act Two, and on this day, the third layer of the trap was destroyed. My level had exceeded five hundred. Seong-Il was close to getting into the master section, and we were having a ‘peaceful’ time.

The outer wall completed by Seong-Il was entangled with all kinds of skeletons as the bodies had decomposed. Our city had become a place that scared off people from the exterior alone. Apparently, they didn’t even check the name before running away. Seong-Il had started the dead body wall for fun, but it wasn’t a bad idea as we would stay here until the end of Act Two. In the eyes of others, this had become a hell castle where the devils lived. I often heard stories of people leaving the guild and wandering around wildly, but I couldn’t find anyone around my city.

[You have leveled up.]

“392,494? They are asking for… almost four hundred thousand XP for the next level. What the fuck?”

Seong-Il frowned as soon as he leveled up and hit the Master section.

“When will I be able to collect that much and level up again? Ugh. What’s wrong with the master section? I’m sure the message didn’t make any mistake with the numbers.”

I interjected, “That’s why it’s called the hardest section.”

In terms of the old system, Seong-Il had risen to an A-class Awakened. However, one of the reasons why the A-Class Awakened in the past were more outstanding than the current Seong-Il was because he only had low-class skills. It didn’t matter how much his proficiency increased. He had a main trait, but unfortunately he hadn’t picked up a main skill yet.

Quests that rewarded master boxes came out from the fourth floor of the trap, and there was at least one per district on the fifth floor. Then, the System gave a challenger box on the seventh floor when an Awakened cleared the final boss match. Everyone knew that the Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues had acquired their main skills and items from that area.

Anyway, there would be conflicts in other cities over the quests, but not in mine. It was the perfect base. This was my paradise, where quests and rewards poured out and allowed me to suck up all the XP.

[Thanks for coming to see me, Luah-le, all the time (｡•́︿•̀｡)]

The Spirit flapped its wings in excitement.

[It’s weird. There’s something that the Guide must tell you guys…but the Guide has been so quiet. Hmm… I wonder what happened? This wouldn’t have happened if I was promoted to that position.]

“What is the news?” I asked.

Right then, Luah-le’s light began to turn red. This couldn’t happen unless this guy was the Guide.

[Explorer has been activated.]

[About the Replaced Guide (Explorer Reward)

The Guide who rejects the command of the Great System is not qualified to be the Guide.]

The Spirit smiled mischievously. When its grinning face became filled with malice, a message appeared along with it.

[It’s like a mini-game. It’s a gift from the System to the stages that are performing so well. Take it as a time to rest and have fun! Or you can consider it as a training session.]

The Spirit emitted the brightest red light I had ever seen. I quickly widened my distance from it as I felt there was a mysterious power lurking in the Spirit. I also snatched Seong-Il’s collar as he had reacted a few seconds too late.

He snapped, “What the freak? Why did that turn red?”

Seong-Il had also received the message. One of the many spirits in my city had been promoted to the Guide. The light that began to radiate from the Spirit stretched out at an unavoidable speed. Even my transcendent Sense couldn’t follow at the speed it was going. When the light went through me, my Explorer trait activated again.

[About the Excessive Involvement of Doom Kaos (Explorer Reward)

Doom Kaos has succeeded in planting his authority during the creation of the System. It spoiled the System, which could have been perfect. However, he didn’t stop there. Now, Doom Kaos is trying to use his power in the System to answer the ‘Maruka Tribe’s Ritual.’

Content: Power consumption. Doom Kaos’ influence in the System will be significantly reduced.]

Things had happened without giving me enough time to check it in detail. The Spirit, which had stayed still for a bit, flew toward me.

[Are you ready to have fun? It will be carried out under the name of the Great System. Let’s shout it out together. Fight, fight! Until there’s only one person left!]

***

Swoosh—!

It was the same as when I entered the Stage of Advent for the first time. The irresistible pressure wrapped around me and threw me into this space. The floor was laid flat on the ground, and dark energy was filling up the air. The walls on the side had the same dark energy, and the area was about thirty-six square feet in total.

[Fight Until There’s Only One Person Left (Quest)

The strong are bound to grow through intimidating confrontations and life-or-death crises.

Mission: Survive until one is left.

* If the mission isn’t completed within the time limit, the space will be closed.]

Two people had also entered the space with me. Both were young Asian men. Their eyes looked angry as they checked the quest while looking at each other with their backs to the black wall.

The insignias they had on their chests looked quite similar to each other. That must have been why they nodded briefly at each other and then turned toward me without saying a word. I probably looked hostile to them, but my anger was directed toward the System, not those guys. This was only happening to Awakened in high-class stages. The quest notes clearly displayed the System’s vicious intention to reduce the number of Awakened on the top stage to one-third.

I was checking the information regarding the explorer reward, and one of them started talking without moving.

“I knew it as soon as I saw you. I have heard of guys like you. You hide in the traps at night to avoid night raids, and search the safe zone for hunting during the day, right?”

He was talking about the wild guys who had left the guilds and wandered around.

[The opponent failed to see through you. (Skill, Night Eye)]

[The opponent failed to see through you. (Skill, Night Eye)]

Two messages showed up at the same time, and the two guys flinched immediately.

“Shhh.”

That was enough to shut their mouths. Then, I checked the explorer’s reward window.

To answer the Maruka Tribe’s ritual? Doom Kaos’ influence within the System will be significantly reduced as he would have spent a lot of power?

Even transcendent beings might not have liked the current situation. This was because the human Awakened were growing quickly and carrying out quests without any major concerns up to Act Two.

Following that, I turned my attention back to these two guys. One of them was pointing at me with his index finger and drawing an X. The meaning of that sign was obvious. They were trying to figure out my power as I wasn’t equipped with items, and they were wondering if they could fight me.

The guy who sent the signal said in a nervous tone, “Let's… not fight. We don’t have to follow the System’s rules all the time. If we look closely, there might be a way to keep all three of us alive. No, we should find it.”

The other guy added, “I agree. There’s still a lot of time left. I’ll take a look over here, so please check if there are any exits on other sides.”

They began to grope around the blocked wall that was covered in dark energy. They also looked sideways at me while making overexaggerated movements as if to show me how much effort they were putting into this.

“Why did you try seeing through me?” I asked coldly.

The two slowed down and quietly glimpsed at me.

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

I continued, “Seeing through someone is the same thing as attacking first.”

The guy who made eye contact with me cried out in a hurry, “It… it was because… your affiliation was unclear! You can also see through my status too. Go ahead and look. You will figure out that you will get nothing good from fighting against me! What are you doing? Go ahead. Do it!”

He ended with both his arms wide open. At that same time, the attack that rushed into the back of his neck wasn’t from me. Sharp energy sprang from the tip of the other man’s sword, and it was from the same guy who had silently agreed to be on his side earlier. The fight started after the first guy was hit and stumbled toward the wall.

Bang!

A fierce life-and-death battle broke out between the two. At the moment when the winner was decided, he gasped out, “...That bastard tried to kill you. It’s over… it’s over now, so let’s find a way out of here. If you help me, we can get out of here…”

He continued, “I’m sure Odin will pay you back. You know who Odin is, right?”