No, it's been 70 years.

"Oh, come on!" I vented my anger. However, as soon as I shouted, I could see why. "Ughh." I didn't have any energy in my entire body. My soul power was blank and empty.

- You are in the Grand Master rank.

- You have been down-ranked to Unranked due to the current power consumption.

As I turned my head, I found out that the Throne was gone. It continued to restore my energy and finally disappeared. Slightly confused, I asked, "Wasn't the Throne's speed of recovery faster than its speed of consumption?"

There was surplus remaining in the beginning, but the recovery rate gradually slowed down. It seemed like fatigue was built up, just like how the muscles of living creatures are.

"If you put it that way, doesn't that mean that it endured for a pretty long time since it has been 70 years?" I groaned, mustering strength to rise from my seat. Even though my soul power was basically an empty cup, given that the condition of my body was fine, I was quickly able to move after taking a short break.

We've stopped raiding the stage for a while.

"How long will it take for the Throne to recover?"

According to information obtained before entering the stage, it takes approximately three months to recover the Grand Master rank.

I was not the only one who carried the reputation of a Grand Master rank. In the Republic of Korea, I was the only one in the Grand Master rank with about 5 other Master Ranks. In terms of the world, the president of powerhouse nations, Popes, globally-loved stars, as well as many others were Grand Master rankers.

"The Iron rank only takes 24 hours though. Well, then again, if the rank is high, there will obviously be a greater amount to recover. The food that is consumed will be much greater too," I grumbled and my body that was in the Unique World laid down in the bedroom. Then, I moved my consciousness to the stage.

Are you planning to play it directly?

"That's the better choice while I'm resting up."

"Kyaaaaaakk!!"

"Can you not scream?" After snatching the Ultra-Vibration Blade held by the Metal Alien that was dashing towards me, I cut off its neck.

"Kyaaaaaakk!!"

"Be quiet!" As one would expect, after snatching the Ultra-Vibration Blade, I changed the vibration into shock and struck the Metal Alien's head, which was instantly crushed.

...As expected, you're defeating them easily.

"It's just a matter of superiority, alright. Ah ah ah! Hey guys, are you guys not coming at me~? My hands are playing!"

"Kyaaaaaakk!!"

I cleared the stage slowly and repeatedly, because the goal was to restore my soul power and the Throne in the first place. There was no reason to do a speed run.

Captain-nim, if you don't mind, can you send your urine and feces to the Unique World?

"…No, must I go to the extent of having to use my soul power to send it?"

We don't have enough compost and liquid manure. Each individual collection might not seem like much, but it will still be a considerable amount when accumulated. It will be a great help to the Unique World, where resources itself are limited. Ah, and even if it tastes bad, it will be good to farm for food at the stage. The food disappears when the stage is renewed, even if you brought it over, but the excretions that result from eating the food is another story.

“Aren't you excessively committed to managing the Unique World... I feel like I'm seeing a Korean who's excessively playing a healing game," I grumbled at the sight of Genie who pursued extreme efficiency. However, since it wasn’t exactly rocket science, I went along with it.

After about four months of raiding the stage, the Throne recovered from the Unranked rank to the Grand Master rank. Originally, it only took three months, but it was a little delayed since I used the Throne to eat from time to time. Then, again, I went through a 70-year time freeze.

Four months of progressing with the stage, and another 70 years time freeze… Four months of progressing with the stage, and another 70 years time freeze… Then, at some point…

"Ahh. It's tiring though?" I felt like I was becoming exhausted. It was different from when I was progressing through the Level 9 stage, which was torture at that time. I had felt a hunger great enough to make my mouth salivate even at the sight of meeting the Ogre, and it drove my mind to the extreme. How serious would the situation have had to be for me to starve to death? But it was different now.

"I'm sick of it," I complained. It was not hard to defeat and beat the Metal Aliens, but it was not as simple as catching and killing a bug, either. I could easily annihilate them because of my superiority advantage, but Metal Aliens were monsters equivalent to Compléters. Therefore, the more I proceeded with the stage, the more fatigue was accumulated. Considering that 70 years was a time period that I couldn't feel after the time freeze anyway, I was actually just progressing with the stage for a few years.

'At the very least, as the level goes up, there's fun in growing.' However, spiritual energy, Life Energy, and Aura were all stuck at the limit of experts, and I was just going around on a standstill. It was commonly called the wall of enlightenment.

Do you want to stop progressing with the stage?

"That's ambiguous, too." It wasn't right to just give up because I was sick and tired of it. It wasn't as if it was a situation where I was going to die upon progressing further, like when I reached the limit at the Level 9 stage. My giving up wouldn’t lead to just one or two, but tens of millions of deaths.

Then do it while taking a rest.

"Taking a rest?"

That's right. Isn't three months the time you need to restore your soul power anyway? Why are you purposely doing such tiring labor on the stage? Just play around, you idiot.

"Now that I hear you say that, it seems you're right." It was irrefutable in a logical sense, so I began to play around following Ares' advice. I went through three months of progressing with the stage, and 70 years of time freeze… Three months of progressing with the stage, and 70 years of time freeze…

Once the stage started, I hid myself and hardened my body with propertization. The time limit of the Level 10 Intermediate-difficulty stage was 80 hours, so I played around for 70 hours in the Unique World and cleared the stage with the remaining 10 hours.

I read novels and watch movies. I also watched all kinds of dramas. I stayed up all night playing games, did nothing, and just listened to music. There was no shortage of content to play around with, because there were already all kinds of storage media that I brought over from reality. When the day began, I slowly walked through the Unique World. I slept for days if I was in the mood to do so. I gazed at the night sky for hours without saying a word. Sometimes, I chatted with Genie and Ares for days.

Whoooooooooh… I sat on Ares' shoulder and was greeted by the wind. From this vantage point, I could see the city and factory that radiated down below, the vast farmland…

Time was passing and flying by. A year, five years, ten, fifteen… At first, I watched movies and novels like crazy ,and played games all night. However, as the days went by, the time I spent doing such things decreased. Instead, the time spent where I just sat idly had increased, and...

"The door."

The door? Why? Do you want to open it again?

"That's not it." I roughly overlooked it, but it was a pretty important issue. At some point, the door disappeared from the depths of my mind. My calm and subdued heart was so firm that it felt like a wall that 'I' would have to break past, instead of the door, if 'I' wanted to jump out into reality.

"Ahhh," I belatedly realized. The fact that I needed this nothingness, this time spent doing nothing, so desperately… I murmured, "Come to think of it, this was why I came to Earth."

Why did I come back to Earth when I could have been the Emperor, who wielded absolute power in the Leonhardt Empire if I wanted to? Of course, it was also because of my family, but… This excruciatingly tiresome day-to-day of daily life, which went on without change, was what I missed.

I turned on the game again. It had been a while since I played the Great War. I even tried setting a new record, even though that was meaningless and pointless.

That was how time went by, flying right past again. My mind increasingly calmed down. When I closed my eyes, I could feel my consciousness expand out of my body… I then asked, "Genie, what's the number of Death Processions left?"

There are 91,125,553 people left.

"Time is flowing crazily fast, huh."

The density of time varied from person to person. For those who lived their lives intensely, 24 hours a day, a week, a month, and a year were all enormous amounts of time. It was difficult for anyone who studied 16 hours a day for the civil service exam to endure it for a year. It wasn't a joke, but if a person lived with a broken heart for more than three or four years, it would be difficult to maintain a sane mind no matter how strong the person was.

On the other hand, what if it was the life of someone who lived their life as they wanted? Rather than three or four years, everything would feel like an instant even if they looked back at the past 10 or 20 years. It was common for cases like 'I don't think I've done anything, but decades have already passed' to occur, so if one were to take a good look around, they would definitely be able to easily find someone like that.

-Do you want to start the next battle? If you knock down the enemies in quick succession, your number of clears will cancel the corresponding number of Death Procession. At the end of the stage, the Death Procession that isn't retracted will be confirmed and cannot be reversed.

"Start." I entered the stage. As soon as the stage started, I strode out into the hallway. Of course, I had no intention to mask my footsteps.

"Kyaaaaaakk!!" A Metal Alien appeared. I stood still and watched the Metal Alien charging towards me while screaming. "Kyak?" After running towards me like crazy, it suddenly paused and scanned the surroundings. It was being seemingly vigilant from a distance of about four meters away from me.

"Just do what you've usually been doing, you bastard," I chuckled and strode up to the Metal Alien, which paused in a slightly cowering manner. However, the Metal Alien couldn't stand it once I entered within its range.

Piiing! The Ultra-Vibration Blade sliced down like lightning, but I didn't bother to raise my hand to block it. The Ultra-vibration Blade struck my shoulder. Thudd. It was the sound of a gentle slap on the shoulder. I then reached out and grabbed the Metal Alien by its arm. Wooooom--!

"Kyakkkkk!!!! Kyaaaaaaaak!!!!" The Metal Alien's body twisted like a wave. It struggled along with a roar, but eventually collapsed. It couldn’t endure for a long time.

"..." I stood still and looked down at the fallen Metal Alien. Just then, I suddenly felt grateful to Project End. I immediately said, "Genie, please proceed with the stage automatically, with the Hunter and the Berserker that was made beforehand."

Shall we include Porter too?

"No, it doesn't matter even if they are exhausted… Just do it based on the method you have been employing so far.”

Understood.

As I heard Genie's reply, I put my body through steel-ification again. "Ah." However, I didn't lose my consciousness.

You moved in the steel-ified state! Congratulations, Captain-nim! Your Aura has reached the level of a Compléter!

No wait, you've been playing every day, so why a Compléter suddenly?

Listening to the two control personas, I focused my consciousness. Of course, the consciousness that I naturally maintained was forcefully cut off. Being able to move in the steel-ified state meant that I had a significant increase in power, but it wasn't an ability I needed, at least for now. I then asked, "Genie, do we have any iron ores left?"

There are no more iron ores left now that we've finished smelting. Do you want me to bring you an iron bar?

“Alright. Just give me...about three kilograms." I received an iron bar from Genie, but I didn’t head towards the workshop. I just took it to a room that was prepared, and shaped it as if I was kneading clay.

First, I made a Goblin. Not just its outer appearance, but I even imitated all its parts and structures and made it according to the existing blueprint. I also granted it the properties that the Goblins were granted, and confirmed whether it was actually moving. Then, I crushed it.

What are you doing? Why did you make it and then crush it?

However, I didn't answer Ares’ question and made Hunter. I repeated the exact same process. Once I crushed Hunter, I then made a Berserker before crushing it right back into an iron bar again. The material used was only three kilograms of iron bars. It was so small that working with it was hard, but I was able to do it because I had a high elemental affinity.

Whoooong--! I poured my Aura into the steel that had turned back into its initial bar form. The iron bar began to pulse as if it was alive, since the Aura being injected exceeded a certain point. Following that, I also emitted spiritual energy. Shiiiiingggg! I used Gigas Call to summon them, even though the Avatar series couldn't really be called a Gigas. The overall structure was based on the design of a Gigas, but it didn't have the most important thing that a Gigas should have.

Spackkkk! Spackkkk! As I concentrated my consciousness, the spiritual energy that was condensed at one point turned into a Lightning Spirit. This was the Lightning Heart, which was the last puzzle piece to turn the half-baked Avatar series into a real Gigas.

Wiiiiiiiingggg---! I could feel my maximum Aura and my maximum spiritual energy permanently decreasing. It was an exorbitant consumption that wouldn't be recovered simply by taking a rest. However, I did not pay any heed to it.

Kriekkkkk! A small doll that looked like a figurine lifted its body up. The basic form was a Goblin, but it was an object that had a small size more suited for a toy. However, it was a different product from the Avatar series so far.

Wow... Such a little Gigas exist? Of course, since it's not an Iron Heart, the power output is different and it can't handle soul power too. Still, this is...

This is incredible.

I checked the time. The production took quite a while. Now that I had come back to my senses, Hunter and the Berserker were almost exhausted. However, it didn't matter. "Gigas Call." The little doll in front of me disappeared. "Type. Predator."

The small plunderer who entered the stage immediately hit the wall and lured the Metal Alien. "Kyaaaaaaak!" The Metal Alien who appeared took out an Ultra-Vibration Blade without a hint of hesitation even after seeing the Predator, which could only be seen as a toy at first glance.

Thaaaaang! As soon as Predator faced the Metal Alien, it kicked against the floor and burst forth like an arrow. The footprints of the Predator were deeply engraved on the floor it kicked against, which showed how strong its legs were despite weighing only three kilograms.

Shiiiiingg! The Metal Alien cut at the Predator, which was flying towards it like lightning. Despite the sudden ambush, it showed a calm response...that proved useless in the end. Kwakkkkk! This was because the severed body of the Predator was sucked into the Metal Alien's body like a drop of water in a pond.

"Kyaaaaaaackkkk---!!" The Metal Alien screamed in pain, because its body began to crumple from its right shoulder and left thigh. Those were areas where the Predator's body had permeated through. It struggled, taking an extreme measure to cut off its shoulders and legs as it was in agony. However, that decision was meaningless. Its severed arms and legs stuck to the Metal Alien's body as if they were alive and turned into a single body again. Kriekkkkk-! Then, after a while, its body was crumpled and reconstructed and transformed into the appearance of a Berserker.

Wow, this is crazy.

Wielding the elemental affinity... It's a Gigas, huh. This isn’t completely unprecedented though.

There was no need to mention what happened after that. There was no way that the Predator, who possessed an Ability, would fail to clear the stage when even the Berserker could do so without any particular problem.

Predator killed four Metal Aliens, and then permeated into the fifth Metal Alien to drag it alive to my body. Then, Predator removed its control over the Metal Alien's body and killed it in front of my body to clear the stage. After returning to the Unique World with Gigas Call, it attacked the next stage… The Predator weighed only three kilograms, so the lack of soul power was no longer a problem.

"Uuushaaa." I found a suitable place to sit in and transformed the Shadow Stalker to its revolver form.

The cunning thing about humans was… Despite being alone and being able to find serenity, as well as a peace of mind, they would eventually miss the hustle and bustle of human beings as time went on. The countless people gathered at Gwanghwamun Gate, the scoundrels who were in denial of the evil deeds they had committed, people who were praised as great humans, or those who felt burdened just by living their lives as per usual… I wanted to see them all.

"Is there going to be a new problem again?" I wondered. Of course, there was no guarantee that the newly made Predator would perfectly clear the stage, so nothing could be ascertained yet. However, there were no further problems.

-Death Procession has all been cancelled.

-Congratulations! The stage has been cleared perfectly! Rewards are given based on contribution.

- Your ranking is 1.

The Level 10 Intermediate-difficulty stage was over.