Chapter 225.

Medea lost her cool for a moment when the artwork of her life was stolen in front of her eyes, but she quickly regained her calm .

She straightened her dress and smiled modestly .

To be honest, it was a bit scary looking at her like this . But since Medea wasn’t a very normal person even in the mythology she came from, such a reaction probably wasn’t too out of place .

“I’ll be expecting it then . Thank you . ”

Medea even thanked me politely before she left .

Hearing that there was a meeting among administrators coming up, I accepted her request to make her a dress .

It wasn’t a ‘favor’, so there was naturally compensation for it .

For the price of this dress… I should get about half of Prestige .

On a side note, Athena also left, saying that she would come back in 2 weeks to privately talk about something .

“Now that the burden is lifted off our shoulders… Honer? Erenner?”

“Yes, Ship Commander, the pathway to the hibernation chambers has been secured . ”

“Then let’s go . ”

I went down to the underground pathway with Horner, Erenner, and several NPC soldiers .

After about 20 minutes of walking, we arrived at a place filled with hundreds of hibernation chambers .

My job here was simple .

I took out the [Mystic Key] as though it was a trump card .

Then, I unlocked the 200 or so hibernation chambers in the room .

“Now, lead them to [Area 3] . ”

While I was giving Horner and Erenner their next order…

[Welcome, Player Extra7 . ]

[‘APG 982’, the AI assigned to oversee Genkelope’s Vessel, greets Master . I have been connected to your ‘smartwatch’ for your convenience . ]

[Notifying, power has returned to normal operations in ‘Area 3’ and ‘Area 1’ . ]

[You can take control over Area 1 through hacking its command system . ]

“Then do that, but don’t hurt the people inside in the process . ”

Aileen’s party should be currently in command of Area 1 . But since they didn’t have anyone who was capable of utilizing their part of the vessel, it made sense for me to take it .

[Understood . ]

[Commencing hacking…]

[Hacking complete . Area 1 has been synchronized with Area 3 . ]

[Video of Area 1 will now be projected . ]

—Eh, what?! Guys, look! Something’s strange!

—Huh? What do you mean?

—Look!

—…’Area 1 now belongs to Master’…? What’s this?

—W-What? What are you talking about!? I just used my TP to power it up!

Having her possession stolen again, Aileen shouted angrily . I made a mental note to make it up to her later .

I glanced at Horner .

“I delegate some of my authority to Horner here . ”

[Understood . ]

“Horner-ssi, many Players will be coming here soon . ”

“Yes . ”

“Most of them will be summoned to the deck in Area 1, so make them go through some sort of a security check and separate them as needed . ”

Then, I handed Horner a notebook .

“What’s this?”

“This is, um, what should I call it?”

It was the strategic book for floor 16 to floor 19 . I didn’t know how many people would die climbing these floors head-on, and since I thought using this book as a reward could power up the vessel long-term, I put my full effort into making the best one possible .

“It’s a strategic book that Players would kill to get . Make them do whatever you want and give this to them as a reward . ”

“Yes, understood . ”

**

I returned to Earth for the first time in quite a while . But this time, I wasn’t alone . Spartan had come with me . He had recently awakened a new Trait, the ‘Authority of Existence’, which let him follow me out of the Tower of Wish .

“How’s the outside world? Is it better?”

—Pururu .

I opened my apartment door with the satisfied Spartan .

As soon as I opened it, tadadada— the sound of footsteps rang out, and Evandel soon entered my sight . She looked at me with a bright smile, then paused when she saw Spartan sitting on my shoulder .

“Uwoaaah… a big bird!”

She was in awe as evidenced by her eyes and mouth widening to the size of a pingpong ball .

“Evandel, do you want to play with him?”

“Woaah… I can~?”

“Of course . ”

I handed Spartan over to Evandel and sat down on the living room couch .

I yawned a couple of times before turning on my smartwatch in curiosity .

===

▷Stats

*Variable stats

[Strength 10 . 6 (+5 . 400)]

[Stamina 10 . 135 (+5 . 865)]

[Speed 14 . 625 (+1 . 375)]

[Perception 14 . 925 (+1 . 075)]

[Vitality 10 . 605 (+4 . 395)]

[Magic Power 4 . 55]

□Gift

▷ 「Master Sharpshooter」 [High-intermediate rank] [Spirit attribute] [Evolving] [Grade 3 – Proficiency EXP: 83%]

▷ 「Young Dwarf’s Dexterity」 [High-intermediate rank] [Illusion-attribute] [Evolving] [Grade 5 – Proficiency EXP: 23%]

▷ 「Random Consolidation System」 [Low-intermediate rank] [Soul attribute] [Evolving] [Grade 3 – Proficiency EXP: 83%]

□Physique (2/3)

▷ 「Magic Dysfunction Physique」 – Energy Conversion’s upper limit has been fixed to 16 points .

▷ 「Medicinal Memory Physique」 – because your stats have gotten too big, stat-related medicines greatly lose their effectiveness .

===

“Like I thought… . ”

Excluding the artificial stat increases I’ve gotten like the Upgrade Center’s surgery, my stats had only gone up by 0 . 6 points . Thankfully, the two most important stats for a sharpshooter, ‘speed’ and ‘perception’, had gone up more as I used [Stigma Crystals] to boost them .

Of course, back when I was in Cube, I worried about getting even one stat over 10 points . I had come a long way since then . With satisfying reinforcements like Stigma, Aether, skills, and the Medicinal Memory Physique in my body, I should be near the upper ranks of high-intermediate rank Heroes .

Tiriring—

Just when I was getting bored, Yoo Yeonha messaged me .

[I found a summoner magician and teacher like you wanted . ]

[It’s the 8-star magician, Ah Hae-In . ]

[It was hard to get her . Contact me as soon as you see this . ]

“…Ah Hae-In . ”

I looked at Evandel .

“Birdy, Birdy~”

—Pururu .

“Play with me… please?”

—Pururu .

Spartan chicly flapped away while Evandel chased after him . Every time Evandel tried to touch him, Spartan turned away and glared .

“Sowwy… . ”

Seeing her dejected, I smacked Spartan’s head .

**

The sky was clear on a beautiful spring day .

I met Ah Hae-In in the underground training room with Evandel .

“…I’ll arrange the best conditions available . ”

As expected of an 8-star magician, Ah Hae-In immediately recognized what Evandel was and made me an offer after seeing her commanding an army of spirits .

“No, that won’t do . ”

Her offer was entrusting Evandel to trusted members of the Magic Tower or the Hero Association, so that she could be carefully observed and managed .

It was an obvious no .

“This child isn’t human . She’ll need to be dealt with more strictly . ”

Ah Hae-In’s eyes saw through Evandel but nothing more .

“No, Evandel is human . ”

“… . ”

Hearing my determined tone, Ah Hae-In looked at Evandel again . The girl wearing a magician’s hat and waving a wand around was cute no matter how one looked . Soon, a smile emerged on Ah Hae-In’s face .

“But she can also become a disaster . ”

“Does she look like a disaster?”

“… . ”

“To me, she looks like the opposite . She’ll help solve the disaster that will befall humanity . ”

The moment I said that, Ah Hae-In’s expression suddenly turned cold .

“…What do you mean by that?”

I maintained my silence . She continued .

“Speak . What disaster do you think will befall humanity? The public perception is that Earth is in its most prosperous time, especially with the advent of the Tower of Wish . ”

…Disaster that would befall humanity .

In truth, at this point in the original story, the enraged Kim Suho should have destroyed the Tower of Wish .

But now, there were still 10 floors left to go in the Tower of Wish, and Kim Suho was far from being enraged .

So the thing I was worried about the most was the ‘third episode’ arriving before the Tower collapsed .

“…Do you know about it, Duchess Ah Hae-In?”

“I asked first . ”

Ah Hae-In said in a serious tone . I knew she had close ties to the Association, so it wasn’t surprising that she would know about this .

I met Ah Hae-In’s gaze for a moment, then turned to face Evandel .

“An existence that isn’t human, monster, nor Djinn . ”

Instantly, Ah Hae-In’s eyebrows twitched .

“Whether it was born naturally through evolution and mutation, or artificially created through research… That, I don’t know . ”

I continued solemnly .

“But I do know that it is craftier than humans and more heinous than Djinns . ”

The third enemy was slightly different from demons or Djinns . Because I glanced over the details too much in the original story, I had no way to tell what changes the co-author would have made to make the story make more sense .

“You’ve heard the legend, right? That there are humanoid monsters living in Central Africa . ”

“… . ”

Those words put the nail in the coffin . Ah Hae-In bit her lips .

“…Jeronimo’s information network has reached Africa?”

“It’s Fenrir’s information network . ”

“…I see . ”

This great calamity would destroy the entire Middle East and a third of Europe . But with Evandel’s help, this international catastrophe could be reduced greatly .

“Even knowing that, you don’t plan on revealing that child’s existence to the Association?”

“No, not now . Not until the time comes . ”

“Hm… . ”

Ah Hae-In closed her eyes and pondered .

Tick— Tick— Tick—

The clock ticked dozens of times in Ah Hae-In’s silence .

Eventually, Ah Hae-In nodded .

“Fine . But that child’s talent is far greater than what you think . ”

Ah Hae-In pointed at Evandel . She was dancing with Hayang after training .

“5 years, you said?”

“…Pardon?”

5 years? What 5 years?

While I tilted my head, Ah Hae-In continued .

“3 years… no, 2 years will be more than enough for her to surpass me . ”

“Oh, really?”

How amazing .

I nodded my head and asked .

“So, can you teach her?”

“…Are you doubting my abilities?”

“No, it’s just that Evandel doesn’t use magic power . ”

Evandel used the ‘power of spirits’, a power that was unique only to her .

“I know, don’t worry . ”

Ah Hae-In put up two fingers .

“Two days a week, I’ll come here to teach her for 12 hours . The price will be—”

“Would you like it in TP or Earth’s currency? Ah, you can get it in Tower items too, if you’d like . ”

“…Eh?”

Ah Hae-In seemed to be taken aback .

I continued with a smile .

“Ah, this has gotten more common recently . With how famous the Tower of Wish has gotten, Players inside the Tower trade with stuff outside the Tower . ”

“Ah, right, I heard about that too . In that case… . ”

Ah Hae-In took out a contract . This black paper was one Yoo Yeonha liked to use . Ah Hae-In probably got it from her .

“How does 50,000TP every 2 weeks sound?”

“That’s fine . ”

“…You must have a lot of TP . 50,000TP is a lot . ”

“If you’re talking about my assets, I have well over a thousand times that amount . ”

Ah Hae-In narrowed her eyes and examined me . I simply smiled and got up from the chair I was sitting on . It was time to introduce Evandel to her teacher .

“Hm?”

However, Evandel wasn’t there . Spartan and Hayang were gone as well .

Seeing me looking around the room, Ah Hae-In spoke .

“They just left . ”

“Oh, they did?”

“You should pay more attention to your kid… tsk, tsk . ”

As she said that, Ah Hae-In focused on writing the contract .

While I was waiting for her to finish, I found a smartphone on the ground .

It was Evandel’s .

In this world, smartwatches filled the role of smartphones, but since smartwatches were trickier to use for children, smartphones still weren’t obsolete .

Curious, I picked up the phone .

As soon as I unlocked it, a green search engine popped up with the following search history .

[england]

[wat is england]

[enland pincess]

[England princes]

[rahel]

[rachell]

[rachel]

“… . ”

I suddenly felt bitter . Evandel’s search history was filled with her looking up England’s Princess Rachel .

“Huu… . ”

Rachel was a well-known person and often appeared in the media . In fact, she even went on the news this morning . Not only was she England’s princess, but she was also one of the Tower’s top Rankers, Crevon’s royal guard, and the most talented elementalist in history .

Her beauty was also widely talked about in Korean forums, so it would be surprising if Evandel hadn’t seen her .

…In fact, she probably looked Rachel up every day .

“Here . ”

At that moment, Ah Hae-In handed me the contract . I glanced over it real quick and signed it immediately .

“…Then I’ll pass on 50,000TP to Yoo Yeonha . ”

“Got it . ”

“Let me go get Evandel . ”

I left the training room .

It wasn’t hard to find Evandel . She was just sitting on a swing in the playground nearby, watching something on her smartwatch .

“Evandel?”

I called Evandel with a smile . Startled, Evandel waved her hands hurriedly and quickly covered her smartwatch’s hologram screen .

“He, hehe . You’re here, Hajin Hajin~?”

Because of it, she couldn’t run up to me . Seeing her cover up the screen awkwardly, I approached her first .

“Hajin, I… . ”

“It’s okay . ”

I kneeled in front of Evandel, who was at a loss for what to do, and gently met her eyes .

—Princess Rachel, who just returned from the Tower of Wish, has been garnering more and more attention due to her talent as an elementalist… .

A news broadcast rang out from Evandel’s smartwatch . I gently embraced Evandel .

“If you train hard and wait, I promise I’ll let you meet her . ”

**

…After that day’s defeat, I fell into an abyss of darkness and solitude . The conviction I carried deep in my heart was shattered, and humiliation was instilled into every inch of my body .

The pain from that day still haunted me every night . The humiliating way I begged him to spare my life refused to leave my mind .

Every day, he appeared in my nightmares . In front of his cold, beast-like eyes, all I could do was shudder in fear like a rabbit .

I felt the fundamental basis of myself crumbling down from this trauma . A vicious sense of helplessness and powerlessness engulfed my body . With my entire life rejected, only emptiness filled its place . The first few days after that incident, I spent most of my time just lying on my bed .

It was too late to realize this fundamental truth . As I had never experienced such defeat and humiliation, as I was used to finding excuses for my defeats and finding reasons to gloat for my victories, I had become an insufferable loser .

Of course, even a late realization was still a realization . I began to do what I had to do one by one .

I began to put in effort . I put in effort like my life depended on it . I exhausted my body and mind, learning what ‘effort’ meant for the first time .

Perhaps because of the effort I put in ever since the day of defeat, days where I felt accomplished increased . Although my body still shuddered uncontrollably whenever I thought of that traumatic day… I had finally obtained the chance to start over after falling to the bottom of the cliff .

[2 weeks later, 15F – Genkelope’s Restored Vessel]

On a deck of a spaceship filled with numerous Players, Bell, Jin Sahyuk, and Rumi were waiting to get approved for entry .

“Are you feeling better now?” Bell asked .

Jin Sahyuk simply snorted . Bell liked this change in attitude . Jin Sahyuk had always been the type to talk with action rather than words, but now she had become quieter and more thoughtful . As far as he was concerned, this suited the future ‘world’s strongest’ more .

—Next guest .

After all… who would have thought Jin Sahyuk would have the patience to wait in line? This was a simple yet very fundamental change .

“It’s our turn . Let’s go . ”

“I’ll go first . ”

‘Rumi’ was the first one to go . In less than 10 seconds, she was admitted into the ship .

Next was Jin Sahyuk . She walked up to the security expressionlessly .

But something was wrong . The employee who saw Jin Sahyuk’s face flinched, then quickly put his hand under the table .

“What’s wrong?”

—Please wait a moment .

“For what?”

—Please wait a moment…

“What?”

Jin Sahyuk frowned at the strange discrimination . It was then .

Koong, koong!

Suddenly, eight heavily armed soldiers appeared and surrounded her .

“What’s this?”

A system alert also popped up .

[You have been marked as 15th floor’s criminal . All stats decrease by 70% . ]

“…What? Criminal? I, I just got here! I…”

—Capture her!

Before she could voice her complaints, the soldiers charged forward . With her stats reduced, Jin Sahyuk was helpless against them . She could only glare unwillingly while her body was restrained .

“Why me!? Why me!? Why me!?”

—You are under arrest .

“What? Why the hell am I being arrested? Hey! Let go of me!”

—You are under arrest .

“But why!? I’ve never even been here before! I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re making a mistake!”

—You are under arrest .

“Y-You fuckers…! Oi, Bell—! Do something about them…?”

However, Jin Sahyuk saw Bell talking to the man behind him in an attempt to not get involved .

It was a familiar sight to Jin Sahyuk, and she naturally misunderstood what it meant .

“Bell, don’t tell me… Fuck, Bell! Is this your doing—!?”

—We will make you faint if you don’t be quiet .

“You guys should just let go of me, dammit!”

Jin Sahyuk struggled to get free, but there was nothing she could do with her stats restricted so heavily . She didn’t even need to be handcuffed by a magic-restricting item .

“Bell, you son of a bitch!”

Looking at the roaring Jin Sahyuk, Bell thought, ‘She’s like an injured beast . ’

“Bell! Bell—! Beeeeell—!”

Jin Sahyuk was dragged away as she continued to yell . Bell faced her and mouthed .

[It’s not me . ]

“What do you mean it’s not you!? If that’s true, then help me—!”

Bell ignored Jin Sahyuk for now and returned to talking to the person behind him . It would be dangerous if the same thing happened to him .

“Aaaaaaak—! Why are you doing this to me—!?”

Jin Sahyuk struggled crazily . Rage and the feeling of being wronged surged from her heart to the point of tears .

“Why!? Why me, why me, why me… . ”

—You are under arrest .

“Arrest my ass! Let go of me, fatass! Let go! Let gooooo—!”

Soon, reinforcements arrived, and the exhausted Jin Sahyuk could only get dragged away .

“Why, at least tell me why . Please, at least let me know the reason… . ”

As she slowly disappeared, Bell turned back and whispered, ‘…I’ll come rescue you later . ’

—Next guest .

“Ah, it’s me . ”

—Player confirmed .

Bell was partially worried, but it seemed he was fine .

“Whew, what a relief . ”

After entering the spaceship, Bell looked around in astonishment . The place was almost like a residential area . He could see burger joints, sushi restaurants, and Korean food stalls . They even had neon lights above them as advertisement .

“Oh… is this that strategic book?”

While he was looking around the ship, a familiar voice rang out . Bell glanced at that direction . There, he saw Essence of the Strait’s Rankers, Chae Nayun and Kim Youngjin .

“Yep, take a look and pass it to the other guild members . ”

“Wow~ Thank you! I heard it isn’t easy to get this . How did you do it?!”

“I cleaned up the monsters in Area 5’s basement . It really was hard . ”

“Mm, then are we going up to the 16th floor right away?”

“Yeah . ”

Chae Nayun, Chae Jinyoon’s younger sister .

Looking at her, Bell smacked his lips .

‘She would have been a good sacrifice too… Should I have gone with her instead?’

At that moment, Chae Nayun felt his gaze and turned his way . Bell met her eyes and gave her a faint smile .

But perhaps displeased at the smile of a robed stranger, Chae Nayun frowned and turned away .

“Haha… how cute . ”

Bell smirked and went back to looking around the ship .

But now that he thought about it, he was missing someone . The person who came in before Jin Sahyuk .

“Ah, where’s Rumi? Geez, these girls sure like to go off on their own . ”

But Bell simply shrugged his shoulders .

He didn’t care what Rumi was doing . He wasn’t the type to interfere in someone’s private life, and Players could revive a few times anyways .

“Well… I guess I’ll go to the prison first . ”

Bell sighed and began to head toward Jin Sahyuk’s new home .

**

While Bell and Jin Sahyuk were having a relatively peaceful(?) time, Rumi was dragged to a dark alleyway . While Jin Sahyuk had been taken by the ship’s police force, Rumi had been taken by a much more dangerous person .

…It’s been a while, Rumi .

A cold voice rang out from the dark shadow that pulled her away . Just her existence alone stifled her breath .

…I told you, right? That I’ll kill you if I ever see you again .

“W-Why should I die?”

…You betrayed Boss with Bell .

“…You’re right, but Boss wasn’t as good of a person as you think he was . ”

In that instant, the magic power pressing down on Rumi got stronger .

“W-W-Wait! You know about it too! The Kwang, Kwang-Oh Incident!”

Rumi shouted hurriedly .

Even a single death caused one to lose their skills . Rumi was well-aware of the importance of skills .

“You know it was Boss who organized that mission . ”

To survive, Rumi touched a sensitive spot .

However, the shadowy magic power only dug deeper into her skin .

Rumi knew she couldn’t expect a peaceful death from the woman in front of her . She shuddered in pain and fear as she shouted madly .

“He took you out to test your abilities and that’s where you met the current Seat of Black for the first time! As a murderer and a victim!”

… .

The magic power paused . Rumi inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she had found a way out .

“That’s right, I know all about it . If you don’t want me to tell him, let me go . I’ll revive anyways even if you kill me . ” Rumi spoke .

The shadow flickered in the air, then let out a faint voice .

…Rumi .

“W-What?”

Immediately afterwards, a gut-wrenching pain engulfed Rumi .

…Who do you think I am?

“Ah, aak… w-wait…”

…There’s no room for negotiation .

When a shadow blade was about to dismember a girl… tiriring a sound unbefitting of the situation rang out .

In that instant, the pain surrounding her entire body disappeared, and Rumi turned around curiously .

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