When I first entered the Tutorial, I was at a complete loss. They said there was a way to get the elixir, but I didn’t know how I could make it. As I was wondering if I should just give up, I met him.

Valdebich was the first friend I hated but also felt a lot of gratitude to.

The first impression Yeon-woo’s brother had of Valdebich was that he was scary. To someone who was from Earth and had only ever seen humans his entire life, a half-giant five meters tall obviously looked like a monster. However, despite this bad first impression, it was Valdebich who ended up teaching his little brother the ins and outs of Section A while his brother was struggling.

His brother had learned a lot of things from Valdebich, even basic things like how to open the system window, check your traits, and get used to the Tower. Thanks to Valdebich, his brother was able to quickly gain the superior trait Perfect Adaptability and use mana after he passed Section A.

The partnership of the human and half-giant had been pretty famous in the Tutorial, and people had approached them with interest, like Vieira Dune, who was the Witch of Stars, and later, his brother’s lover. The three of them managed to get through the Tutorial and accumulated more members as they progressed. That was how Team Arthia was created.

They had been a small team with nine members, and back then, no one would have ever expected they would become a clan powerful enough to threaten the Eight Clans. It was a very different experience from Yeon-woo’s, who had gotten through the entire Tutorial as a solo player.

Because of this experience, Valdebich and Vieira Dune meant a lot to his brother. However, after they cut ties, Valdebich went into hiding. The other members continued with their regular lives or took up high positions in the Eight Large Clans. However, Valdebich didn’t do anything in particular and was rarely seen.

However, the one thing that could be confirmed was that he’d been the first to lead Arthia to their downfall. Even though Yeon-woo didn’t know the details, the half-giant was no better than Bahal or Leonte, who had stabbed his brother in the heart.

[00:00:00_02]

[00:00:00_01]

[The countdown is complete. The trial of the 1st section is beginning.]

An invisible barrier disappeared and Valdebich’s shadow lifted his bastard sword and roared.

「And there he goes with that crazy noise again. It annoys me every time.」 Shanon said irritably.

It was a superior skill that weakened his opponents and originated from the Giant species’ Jotunheimr Shout. However, because of his Cold-blooded trait, it didn’t do much to Yeon-woo. As though Valdebich’s simulation realized it, he hit the ground.

It was a well-known skill called Berserker that would afflict Valdebich with confusion, but at the same time, his dexterity and attack power would increase by 300 to 500 percent. Since the explosive effects were added on top of that, almost no one could face him on a battlefield, which had earned the half-giant the nickname “Sword Yaksha”—a yaksha being a monster from hell.

War Cry and Amplified Explosion were Valdebich’s signature attacks, and his opponents found them quite a nuisance. They were the reason both Shanon and Hanryeong sighed in exasperation. Hanryeong had clashed with Arthia several times in the past and had been injured by Valdebich in battle. Shanon had lost several subordinates to him.

‘Magic Equip.’ However, Yeon-woo didn’t seem nervous at all, and the only thing he did was take out his Magic Bayonet, Carshina’s Dagger in his other hand.

Boom! Yeon-woo flapped his Fire Wings and hurtled towards the half-giant, forcing Valdebich to fly back with a force that made the ground shake.

***

Yeon-woo began to run again. He hadn’t used Magic Equip until the first door, and he continued to spin his Magic Circuit as he moved through the different sections.

In the second section, a war mage called Black Skull appeared, but Yeon-woo managed to fight back his Holy Fire easily. In the third section, he met the first tail of Nine Tails, one of the Eight Large Clans, and in the fourth section, he met the second bishop of Devil Army, Kindred, who was wearing a mask. All the players who had shaken the Tower appeared.

Speeding through the first section wasn’t important to Yeon-woo anymore. He only wanted to fight with all his strength, observing all the abilities of the simulations. When he reached the twenty-first section, he met the shadow of the Sword God.

The simulation was of the Sword God before he learned his superior skill, but his sword technique was still incredible. It was familiar to Yeon-woo since it was the Eight Extreme Fists, but the Sword God wielded them in a way that had more depth and precision than Yeon-woo could manage. There were steps that Yeon-woo didn’t know, so it was difficult to deal with him.

「Even though you have the same teacher, I don’t think Master’s sword technique can equal that of the Sword God. Frankly speaking the Sword God was already at the arhat level by this point.」Hanryeong made an honest assessment. Unlike Yeon-woo, who developed several different skills, the Sword God only focused on his sword.

He had invested time in training in using his sword and his understanding was a lot deeper than Yeon-woo’s. By this point, the Sword God had already made the Eight Extreme Fists his own, and he even adjusted it according to his preferences. Although Yeon-woo had earned the skill of Eight Extreme Swords, he hadn’t deviated from the range of the Eight Extreme Fists yet.

「If a fight were restricted only to the sword, it’s possible the Martial King himself might not be able to defeat the Sword God. 」

That was the reason why the Martial King had accepted the Sword God as his disciple.

「But that is why I think you can learn a lot from him. 」 As Hanryeong suggested, the movements of the Sword God managed to inspire Yeon-woo. He only understood five of the Eight Writings of Divination, and now he could see methods to open the last three.

He extended his battle with the Sword God to observe how the Sword God had managed to create his own path, but in the end, the victory was still Yeon-woo’s. He planted the blade of the Magic Bayonet in the Sword God’s neck and twisted it. The simulation’s head fell off.

[You have completed the trial of the 21st section.]

[You are being transported to the next section.]

***

Yeon-woo’s passage created a great deal of chaos outside.

“H-he’s crazy.”

[21st-Floor Ranking]

[1. Bivasbat

2. Nayu

3. Hughl]

....

[8. Unrevealed]

“W-wasn’t he at fifteenth place just a while ago?”

“He’s already in eighth? Damn!”

Everyone knew that the Hoarder was the player marked ‘Unrevealed’, and they were intent on seeing how far Yeon-woo would rise. His rank was climbing ridiculously fast even though only half a day had passed.

Others took days, even months, to complete just one door, but Yeon-woo was clearing five of them without any rest. Since the system also recognized these accomplishments as karma, Yeon-woo’s points were also exponentially increasing.

“What if he actually gets first place on the twenty-first floor. too?”

“No way...”

However, some of the players clearly wondered if Yeon-woo could pull off a miracle. The Hall of Fame of the twenty-first floor wasn’t the same as the ones on the other floors. The first place in the Hall of Fame of the twenty-first floor was occupied by Bivasbat, the wall that blocked all high rankers and clans from climbing higher. It was Allforone’s name.

Even the Martial King, who occupied the second place, hadn’t been able to scale that mountain. But…what if Yeon-woo did? All the rankers and clans who looked down on him for being a lower-floor player would have to rethink since that would mean that a player who could climb the wall that was Allforone had arrived.

Althought the players thought that even the Hoarder wouldn’t be able to pull it off, their eyes revealed that they entertained the possibility that the Hoarder, who had already done the impossible, might be able to do it again.

“Heidi, what do you think?” Dylan was thinking the same thing, and he looked at Heidi.

“I don’t know.” Heidi stuck her lower lip out. “If I could predict that, I’d set up a fortune telling business.” However, her Fairy Eyes were still tense.

***

The shadow that Yeon-woo saw at the twenty-fourth section was someone he hadn’t ever seen before, not even in the diary. ‘Is this a new player?’ If this was someone who’d only recently made it into the Hall of Fame, Yeon-woo had to take note of them in case he saw them again in the future.

This new simulation was lithe and didn’t seem very strong. Yeon-woo couldn’t tell if it was a male or a female, but as soon as the shadow grabbed their sword, Yeon-woo immediately sensed danger from that smooth movement. There was also something oddly familiar about it.

‘Seseung-nim?’ No—it was somewhere between the Martial King and the Sword God, and he could tell that it was a bit different from the Eight Extreme Fists. Yeon-woo suddenly remembered that the Martial King had said he was the third disciple. There was someone who’d come after the Sword God. Could this be the second disciple?

Yeon-woo checked the name of his opponent again: ‘Nocturne.’ Nocturne had originally been in the ninth place but had been pushed down to tenth because Yeon-woo was now at eighth. Since Nocturne was ranked higher than the Sword God, did that mean they had more potential?

Yeon-woo began fighting this unfamiliar shadow with the Eight Writings of Divination.

***

The twenty-eighth section was the old leader of the Elohim, Hayate, who had already died. Yeon-woo had heard that his specialty was lightning because he had been the Apostle of a god named Thor. Since Yeon-woo’s Fire Rain skill was similar, he had a lot to learn.

As lightning gathered above him, Yeon-woo attempted to awaken his Dragon Blood for the first time. Dragon scales slid up his skin as Fire Rain flashed.

***

Boom! Yeon-woo panted. “Even though it’s a Draconic species, this is a bit unfair.” He narrowed his Draconic Eyes. The navy scales heaved up and down on his skin.

As if reacting to that, the being a short distance away frowned at her own injuries. She was ten meters long, with fierce eyes. Her wings spread out as her tail lashed violently. The Summer Queen released her fury at the person who’d dared injure her.

Boom! Although she was smaller than when he’d seen her at the war with the Cheonghwado, the Dragon Fear that she exuded was enough to make him shudder despite the Cold-blooded trait. Although it was only a simulation, it had the Summer Queen’s personality, and her eyes looked down with the arrogance that only the Draconic species possessed.

The Summer Queen spat out her Breath. Yeon-woo shoved Carshina’s Dagger and the Magic Bayonet into Intrenian and pulled out Vigrid and Aegis. Now, he really had to use everything he had or else his life would be in danger. Also, there was something more important.

‘After this, it’s him.’ After the fifth place Summer Queen, it would be fourth place Cha Jeong-woo. He had to get through this to see his brother, even though it was only a simulation. He wanted to see him with his own eyes and not through the diary.

Yeon-woo was impatient to see his brother, but at the same time, he also wanted to put off seeing Jeong-woo for as long as possible.

***

[The fight with Cah Jeong-woo, 4th place, will begin soon. Prepare for the fight during the countdown.]

[Considering your current condition, you are being given more time to prepare.]

[00:30:00]

....