[368:54:08_59]

[368:54:68_58]

…

“A-Aaack! What is this!”

“M-monster…!”

“Shit! Run away!”

“How can such a thing exist in the Tutorial?”

Disaster struck the Tutorial stage as the mammoth snake that emerged from the orc village ate everything in its path. The novices clearing the sections ran away, sure that they wouldn’t remain in one piece if the creature got hold of them.

Kieeeek! Kiek! Kiek! Compounding the situation was that other monsters were also leaving their territories, and the sight of thousands of monsters and more than a thousand novices stumbling over each other seemed to come straight from hell.

From far away, Yeon-woo watched the situation in mid-air.

[Warning! You are interfering in the Tutorial beyond what is allowed. You are advised to stop immediately.]

[Warning! This is a gate that tests challengers. You are causing a grave disruption to their challenge. Stop immediately.]

[Warning! You are…]

…

[You do not qualify to participate in the Tutorial.]

[You do not qualify to participate in the Tutorial.]

…

[Your level of intervention in the Tutorial stage is extreme.]

Messages popped up endlessly, warning him to leave. Of course, Yeon-woo didn’t even blink an eye. If messages like this could make him retreat, he wouldn’t have messed up the different floors in the Tower in the first place.

Some messages warned that he would receive a penalty, but since he could control his thoughts separate from the system, it wouldn’t affect him too much. However, Yeon-woo’s expression was grave. He had been hoping for a situation like this to happen, but things weren’t going the way he expected. ‘Did Akasha’s Snake always grow like that?’

The snake was growing too fast. When first entered the Tutorial, he had fed Akasha’s Snake tons of monsters to help it grow, but its current growth rate was unbelievable. Although it had only eaten a third of the monsters in Section E, it had already reached the size it had been when it fought Yeon-woo. He couldn’t even imagine how large it would be once it finished eating all the monsters he was offering it. ‘Did it drink an elixir or something?’

If that wasn’t the reason, he didn’t know what else it could be. From what he knew, Akasha’s Snake didn’t have a hidden piece. The rulers of the Lizardmen, King Hargan and Queen Taragan, would help him grow the snake even more, but they hadn’t even arrived yet, and Akasha’s Snake was finishing off the goblin, kobold, orc, and ogre territories first.

It was possible that there was a hidden piece that Jeong-woo hadn’t discovered, but the speed of its growth was still impossible. ‘Or…has its limits been removed because Yvlke isn’t here?’ That was the only guess he could make since Yvlke hadn’t shown up even though he was making a mess of the Tutorial. The pandemonium Laplace was causing was a bigger incident than he’d thought. ‘For now, I should still keep moving it around like I planned.’

Yeon-woo was planning to get Akasha’s Snake to devour not only the monsters in Section E, but also the entire stage. It would reach its maximum soon enough. In the meantime, there was a pretty good harvest for Yeon-woo. His Soul Collection was steadily accumulating souls. The collection’s capacity had grown so much that he’d wondered if he would ever fill it, and now he was finally taking care of it.

Keekeekeekeek! Keekeek! The Spirit Guai giggled giddily at their growing numbers. Yeon-woo’s shadow shook. ‘So, what I have to do here,’ his gaze focused on the escaping novices, ‘is separate the good from the bad?’

* * *

[359:43:21_69]

[359:43:21_68]

…

Twelve hours had passed since he let the snake loose. Chomp, chomp. Akasha’s Snake ate the monsters in Sections E and F, even sticking its head into crevices to get to the territories below ground.

In the meantime, Yeon-woo watched the novices. Some moved cleverly amid the chaos and dealt with the situation well, and his Spirit Guai kidnapped them so that he could use them in Arthia. The rest were just food for the snake. Some might look at Yeon-woo with contempt and say that he was cruel. ‘But that’s how the Tower is. There’s nothing glorious about it. The weak will always die and no one will blink an eye.’ He didn’t particularly feel any remorse even though Jeong-woo had been betrayed by people who shared the same view.

「They say people are hypocritical, but you…」

[Many demons agree with Shanon.]

[A few demons observe your next actions.]

[A message from Agares has arrived.]

[Message: Haha! You’re definitely different from Jeong-woo in this aspect. It’s a wonder that you’re identical twins.]

[A message from Agares has arrived.]

[Message: So, come to me now…]

[Agares’ messages have temporarily been blocked with the user’s authorization.]

“Still, at least, I gave them a chance.” Those who knew their place would retire and safely leave the Tower. Those who didn’t know what was good for them would just end up being swallowed down.

「Ah, yes. Sounds like a choice between being a canary tossed to a cat or thrown in a cold river, but if you say so.」

“Have you ever considered that you might be a canary, too? If I give you to that snake over there, I’m sure it’ll be quite happy.”

「Hehehe. How can a small worm like me understand the vast depths of your mind?」

As Yeon-woo and Shanon bantered with each other, Akasha’s Snake finished eating and raised its head. Kiaaak! Kiak! It was already hundreds of meters long. Its eyes flashed as it looked for more prey. It required a significant amount of energy in order to maintain its size, but apart from the hidden Yeon-woo, there was no food left in the stage.

The snake couldn’t endure its hunger any longer and began to eat everything it saw, even rocks, mountains, and dirt.

「A snake that eats a stage. A bit scary, eh?」 Shanon sounded alarmed. The snake’s loss of control over its hunger was a bit scary, and the sections disappeared one after the other as the snake’s eating speed increased. Finally, the last section, Section G, completely vanished.

The entire stage was gone. And what remained…

「That’s a bit…」

『Interesting.』

Everything was black.

‘Emptiness.’ It was emptiness; there was nothing there at all, like black paint had been spilled over a colorful painting. It was impossible to even recognize time or space. However, it wasn’t like regular emptiness, which swallowed everything. Yeon-woo could still hold his existence together, and it was probably more accurate to call it a world of nothingness.

Akasha’s Snake was now an extraordinary length of over hundreds of kilometers. The Giants in Tartarus couldn’t even compare.

[A demon of Niflheim, Jörmungandr, observes Akasha’s Snake.]

[Apophis carefully examines Akasha’s Snake.]

…

Akasha’s Snake bared its fangs now that there was nothing left of the stage. It was angry because it couldn’t eat the emptiness. Its hunger only grew worse. Then, the snake bit its tail, forced to eat its own body out of hunger. Crunch, crunch.

「Dang. It’s eating itself now? Even the greediest animals don’t do that…has it reached its limits?」

It was almost horrifying to watch the snake eat itself. Black scales scattered and blood flowed like a fountain. Its eyes turned bloody from the pain, but it didn’t stop. Then, when only its head remained, the light disappeared from its eyes.

‘It’s starting.’ Yeon-woo noticed how the snake’s head trembled. When he'd first cleared the Tutorial, the orc shaman had extracted the snake’s brain to resurrect it. ‘That means the snake’s true body is in the brain.’ Since it had grown to an exponential size, its true body had definitely realized holiness.

“Everyone, get ready.” At Yeon-woo’s orders, his shadow spread out and Shanon, Hanryeong, Rebecca, and Dis Pluto appeared, all heavily armed. They surrounded the snake’s head, prepared to attack at any time. No one knew what its true body looked like. If it had gained transcendence, they needed to subdue it immediately.

Fwoosh! Just then, the snake’s forehead split and something popped out. The army of death tightened their hold on their weapons, but astounded expressions appeared on everyone’s faces.

「What’s that?」

They’d been expecting the true body to break out from the head and wreak havoc.

「Is it dead?」

However, the small snake lay still without moving. It was unexpected, and Yeon-woo wondered if it was a trick. However, the tiny snake wasn’t even breathing.

Yeon-woo spread his Fire Wings and approached it. Shanon and the others were about to warn him of the danger, but they stopped when nothing happened. The snake was really dead.

「Are we… fucked…?」 Shanon couldn’t hide his disbelief. How could the snake die after that monstrous display of violence? How was it possible? If he had known, he would have captured it as soon as it had grown big enough.

Was everything they’d endured to get to the Tutorial all for nothing? There was no guarantee they could find a ticket for the next round, and since the stage was so ruined, it might not even have another round for a while.

The other subordinates were all silent as well, but Yeon-woo stroked the corpse of the snake’s true body. Unlike the dejected subordinates, he had another take on the situation. It occurred to him that there might be another clue in the death of Akasha’s Snake. He was about to pull out its soul when Nemesis suddenly appeared through the emptiness.

『Master.』 He hadn’t shown himself ever since Jeong-woo’s vestige body had fallen asleep. Without even finishing their greeting, Nemesis turned to the snake. 『Please give it to me.』

Yeon-woo looked at Nemesis with a questioning expression. Nemesis continued in a low voice. 『I was born from Jeong-woo’s special benefit and grew by eating his dreams. I used to be a dragon who lived in fantasies, but now I’m a dragon sleeping in dreams. If I eat death, I’m sure I will gain something.』

Yeon-woo realized that it was an obvious answer for Nemesis to eat Akasha’s Snake. Nemesis and the snake looked extremely similar, and just as Akasha’s Snake was the Black King’s familiar, Nemesis was his. Akasha’s Snake had waited for the Black King, and Nemesis had waited for him. Now that Akasha’s Snake was dead, it wouldn’t be strange for Nemesis to be reborn in its place.

It was possible that the shedding of the snake’s skin meant this. In fact, he was sure of it, even though he wasn’t sure why. He nodded in permission, and Nemesis swallowed the true body of Akasha’s Snake without any hesitation.

Urrrng. Crack! Nemesis’ body began to glow, and he twisted as though he were shedding. The light expanded and swallowed Yeon-woo. Whoosh! When he came to his senses, he saw two gigantic eyes meeting his gaze. Yeon-woo instinctively knew that they belonged to the vestige of Akasha’s Snake. But it was filled with a clear energy that was devoid of the crazed violence it displayed earlier.

『Master…』 It spoke sadly to Yeon-woo. 『You’ve come back. Finally.』 It was said Akasha’s Snake resurrected endlessly as it waited for its master to return. It seemed it had confused Yeon-woo for the Black King. 『I’ve been waiting for your return.』

Yeon-woo couldn’t bring himself to tell the snake it was wrong. The longing in its eyes was too familiar, like his brother’s eyes as he waited all alone in an empty house for him and their mother to return. Before he knew it, he was rubbing the creature’s snout. His hands were tiny next to its massive size, but the gesture seemed to satisfy the snake.

It closed its eyes with a smile, as though it were a puppy being held in its owner’s embrace. Jiiiing. The Cast of the Black King shook as though in response, and the vestige scattered into the Cast. At the same time, messages popped up in front of him.

Ding. Ding.

[Nemesis has been upgraded to a Legendary Beast, ‘Akasha’s Dragon’.]

[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished. Additional karma will be provided.]

[You have acquired 300,000 karma.]

[You have acquired an additional 500,000 karma.]

[You have been awarded a ‘piece of holiness’.]

[You have been awarded a ‘hint of transcendence’.]

…

[You have attained the fifth element, Akasha. From now, you will be able to use the element of nothingness.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

…

[You have gained the authority to use the ‘Akashic Records’ three times now that you have acquired the hidden piece in Akasha’s Snake.]

[Will you access the Akashic Records?]