Chapter 309.

[Seoul, Korea — Maze at the ‘Hero Plaza’]

After 3 hours, Chae Nayun realized something was wrong . Her intuition told her that this maze had no exit .

But how could that be the case? This test was designed to pick out 200 challengers for the Gate of Glory . Chae Nayun explored the maze for 2 more hours to reaffirm her doubt .

Meanwhile, Jin Sahyuk grew more and more tiresome as she watched Chae Nayun go back and forth . She assumed Chae Nayun would give up soon enough, but clearly, she was wrong . Chae Nayun’s tenacity was beyond her imagination .

“Ehew . ”

Jin Sahyuk let out a sigh and got up, about to intervene in Chae Nayun’s wandering .

It was then .

—Sahyuk .

She heard a voice . It flowed into her ears, freezing her brain . Jin Sahyuk widened her eyes and turned her gaze to where the voice had come from .

There, a semi-transparent, fog-like existence glimmered in the air . It was Bell, without a doubt .

“Bell, you bastard—”

Was it because they had been apart for too long? Jin Sahyuk jumped at Bell with a needlessly excessive amount of joy . She stretched her arm and grabbed Bell in his gaseous state by the collar . Bell smiled as he looked down at her grip .

“Where have you been—”

—Shh .

Bell put his finger to his lips .

“Shh? Are you crazy?”

—Hey, keep it down . I’m only here because it looked like you were gonna be eliminated from the tournament .

“Eliminated my ass… . ”

—You’ve accomplished nothing during the last 6 hours . Don’t you want to enter the Gate of the Demon Realm?

“…Is there a reason why I should enter?” Jin Sahyuk remarked flatly . She was here because she wanted to enter the Gate of the Demon Realm . She just felt the need to revolt because she was pissed at Bell .

Bell smiled, thinking Jin Sahyuk was cute .

—Of course you do . You have to kill me inside the Gate .

“…What?”

Jin Sahyuk’s face stiffened . But Bell looked as comfortable as he always did .

—I know you already heard most of what you needed to know from Kim Hajin .

“… . ”

Jin Sahyuk remained silent . Bell was finally starting to take form .

Bell reached out towards Jin Sahyuk and put his hand on her shoulder .

“Please continue to work hard . I believe in you, Sahyuk . ”

Bell’s voice, now even clearer than before, danced in her ears .

“I’ve repeated the past countless times and finally found you… . ”

Jin Sahyuk looked at Bell . She couldn’t understand the firm trust and the earnest hope lurking in his eyes .

“…My death . ”

Bell put his hand on Jin Sahyuk’s head . He recalled the moment he first met Jin Sahyuk . Back then, she was so small that they couldn’t even see eye to eye even when Bell bent over . But now she was an adult .

“You can do it, right?”

A broad smile spread across Bell’s face .

Staring at the beaming smile, Jin Sahyuk nodded .

“…If that’s what you want, of course I’ll kill you . ”

Jin Sahyuk was full of confidence . Death seemed like a befitting gift for the frenemy she’d known for about 20 years .

“The end is finally near~”

“But,” Suddenly Jin Sahyuk gave a wry smile and said, “I have one condition . ”

She had one last question, one last thing she needed to know before she killed Bell .

“Do you know what ‘Synchronization’ is?”

**

[East Asia]

Aileen didn’t ask much . She seemed confused as to why we couldn’t use portals or skills but still provided us top-grade protection .

“Are you sure you can leave for this long?”

“I’ll take this as a vacation . I’ve been so busy recently that I was starting to get annoyed, honestly . ”

Aileen shrugged at Jin Seyeon’s question .

“And this is the first time I’ve ever been in a carriage . Oh, right, what are you gonna do about the carriage? If you’re gonna throw it away, can I keep it?”

“Huh? Ah, of course . You can keep it, Aileen-ssi . ”

“Really?! Wow, thanks!”

Aileen beamed .

“…Kuhum . ”

But the smile quickly faded and Aileen looked at me and Yoo Yeonha in her usual expression .

“Anyway, I won’t ask what you did . I’m sure you were careful not to get involved in anything illegal . ”

“…Of course . ”

Yoo Yeonha nodded and, all of a sudden, pointed outside the window .

“Ah, it’s Pyeongan Island!”

We all sat up straight like meerkats .

As she said, I could see the Korean border in the distance . Yoo Yeonha didn’t care to hide her joy, and I sent a text to Boss with my smartwatch now that the reception was back .

—Boss, I’ve completed the mission .

The reply came quick .

—Good job . Rest well .

At that moment, clunk— The carriage stopped and Sannuri began to throw a tantrum . She was startled by the border guards coming at us with guns and swords in their hands .

“I’ll deal with them . ”

Yoo Yeonha was the first to step out of the carriage .

“Who are you?” Asked one of the guards . But when they saw Yoo Yeonha, all of them immediately gave a 90 degree bow and escorted us back to the mainland .

Later— Yoo Yeonha dragged me to ‘Essential Dynamics Non-Divisional Unit’ located in South Pyeongan Province .

The base was larger than most universities . Yoo Yeonha had been preparing this base ever since she first heard of [Dimensional Entropy] .

“…This is where we’ll open the Dimensional Entropy . ”

Right now, there were only four of us—Jin Seyeon, Jin Sechan, Yoo Yeonha, and me—here inside the enormous base .

“And, this is the ‘Celestial Extractor’— the culmination of magic engineering that will be used to activate Dimensional Entropy . ”

Yoo Yeonha walked towards a large machine with the tilionium case in her hands .

At the center of the machine was the ‘energy heart’, a place to lay down a crystal or a magic ore . Circular pieces of machinery were revolving around the heart . The whole picture reminded me of the Solar System .

We stared at the magnificent scenery in awe . Even Yoo Yeonha, the architect, seemed fascinated by the machine .

“…The energy extracted using this machine could be used for bullets, artillery shells, engines, barriers, power… everything . Essence of the Strait will take humanity to the next level . We’ll be able to stand against any and all possible threats from now on . ”

The energy was glowing in green .

I stared some more at the miniature Solar System before turning around with a small smile . Yoo Yeonha looked at me, slightly confused .

“Are you leaving?”

“Yeah, I’m busy . ”

I had to deliver the last dress to Medea who was waiting for me in the Tower of Wish . I also had to visit Evandel as promised .

“…Sure . Thanks again for your hard work . You can always come back if anything happens-”

“Just remember to send me those shares,” I said and turned my gaze to Jin Seyeon and Jin Sechan, “Then, do you plan on joining the Essence of the Strait, Jin Seyeon-nim?”

Jin Seyeon gave a broad smile .

“Yes, it’s finally time for me to start considering politics . ”

“…”

I smiled in silence .

Next up was Jin Sechan, but I didn’t have much to say to him . But when he noticed that I was looking at him, he bowed to me first .

“It was all thanks to you that I survived . Thank you . ”

“…N-No . Thank you for your hard work . ”

With that, the mission ended for good .

“I’m leaving now . Take care . ”

“Yes, see you later . ”

I said goodbye to Yoo Yeonha and left the base .

Then, I immediately headed to ‘Evandel’s Forest’ with Spartan who had completely healed .

[♥ Evandel & Hayang’s Cabin ^-^ ★]

One word had been added to the adorable door plate .

I opened the door to the cabin without even knocking .

“Evandel~”

Evandel, who had been playing house with Hayang in the living room, widened her eyes . She looked at me in a daze and suddenly dropped the doll she had in her hand on the floor . And… .

“Hajin—!”

…With a radiant smile, she jumped into my arms .

**

11 PM .

I lay in bed with Evandel as I surfed the web .

[The second preliminary round for the Gate of Glory has ended . ]

[What lies beyond the Gate of Glory?]

[‘The Road Ahead for Korea’, Chae Joochul’s speech receives a standing ovation… . ]

The Internet was filled with news regarding the ‘Gate of Glory’ . There was excitement but no panic, probably because the Association changed the name of the gate from the ‘Gate of the Demon Realm’ to the ‘Gate of Glory’ .

“…Mm?”

All of a sudden, I saw the virtual reality helmet lying on the floor of the room . I had brought it with me because I thought Evandel might take an interest in it .

“Hmm . ”

Evandel was asleep and I was bored .

I stretched my arm and grabbed the helmet .

“Scan . ”

Scan was a must . I put the helmet on after I checked it had been enhanced by 59% .

Jiing—

The boot-up usually took about 2 minutes, but with the enhancement, it only took 10 seconds . I looked over the list of games .

[Popular Games]

[1 . Gladiator of the Century]

[2 . Reolesk]

[3 . Grand Theft Auto]

…

‘Gladiator of the Century’ certainly caught my eye . Chae Nayun had asked me to play it with her before, so I figured I should get some practice .

[Purchasing ‘Gladiator of the Century’… . Purchase complete . ]

[Accessing ‘Gladiator of the Century’… . ]

[Welcome to the world of ‘Gladiator of the Century’ . ]

[Please set your ID . ]

My username was always a given .

Extra7 .

[Your username is ‘Extra7’ . ]

[Welcome . Would you like to view the tutorial?]

“No . ”

I skipped the tutorial .

The first thing I did was look at the [Current Rankings] list . Games were always more fun when you played with someone good .

——————

[Current Rankings]

1 — Fralo 161 matches, 130 wins, 31 losses

2 — BritishSpirit 146 matches, 121 wins, 25 losses

3 — Lijengy 70 matches, 70 wins

4 — Wolf 150 matches, 103 wins, 47 losses

…

——————

“Let’s see… . ”

First, I sent a goodwill match request to the No . 1 player .

[Failed to send a goodwill match request to ‘Fralo’ . This user has chosen to decline goodwill match requests from strangers . ]

“Ah, right . ”

Most rankers chose to decline match requests from players other than their friends . This was the case for other games as well . If they didn’t, newbies would pester them continuously .

‘Should I just play ranked games?’ I thought when I noticed ‘Lijengy’ . She was the only ranker who didn’t have the [Automatically Decline Goodwill Match Request] option turned on .

“70 matches and 70 wins… . ”

She looked strong .

After a moment of hesitation, I sent the request .

[You have sent a goodwill match request to ‘Lijengy’ . ]

[…‘Lijengy’ has accepted your goodwill match request . ]

“Oh?”

The moment Lijengy accepted my request, my body was transferred to an arena .

[Map – Gladiator’s Colosseum]

Dust and the cries of the crowd filled the arena .

My opponent was standing on the other side of the Colosseum .

The sword she was holding was so strangely short that it almost looked like a dagger .

After some thought, I chose a baseball bat as my weapon .

[You have chosen ‘baseball bat’, a beginner’s weapon . ]

[3, 2, 1]

[Begin!]

The duel began .

Taat—!

I ran towards ‘Lijengy’ with the baseball bat in my hand . I swung it at her as hard as I could .

Whish—

Lijengy tried to evade my attack, but I relentlessly swung my bat at her .

—Quadruple Baseball Bat Swing!

I shouted .

Whoosh— Whoosh— Whoosh— Whoosh—

My bat moved back and forth 4 times .

And that was the end .

—Kyaaak!

Lijengy died, not being able to withstand my attack .

“…What the . ”

It made sense once I thought about it . My console had been enhanced by an astounding 59%, so my character was alone in an accelerated world . I was basically using a speed hack .

“This is bad . ”

‘I should probably turn off [Random Consolidation System] . It trivializes the entire game…’

As I was about to turn the game off… .

[‘Lijengy’ has requested you for a rematch . ]

…I received a match request from Lijengy .

I accepted it, but the result was the same .

—Quintuple Baseball Bat Swing!

—Kyaak!

[K . O . ]

[Winner – ‘Extra7’]

Again, the match ended in less than 3 minutes .

But Lijengy was persistent .

[‘Lijengy’ has requested you for a best of three rematch . ]

“…Someone’s competitive . ”

I accepted her request .

I was transferred to the Colosseum again .

I jumped at her and swung my baseball bat .

Lijengy fell, but she immediately asked for a rematch .

[‘Lijengy’ has requested you for a best of three rematch . ]

[‘Lijengy’ has requested you for a best of three rematch . ]

[‘Lijengy’ has requested you for a best of five rematch . ]

[‘Lijengy’ has requested you for a best of five rematch . ]

[‘Lijengy’ has requested you for a best of seven… . ]

I was still invincible after 50 rounds and Lijengy continued to send me rematch requests .

[‘Lijengy’ has requested you for a best of nine rematch . ]

“Let’s not… . ”

‘Best of nine is just excessive,’ I thought, when I received a text from Jin Sahyuk .

[Kim Hajin, where are you? Let’s meet . ]

I declined the rematch request and typed a reply to Jin Sahyuk’s text .

[You have declined Lijengy’s match request . ]

[Lijengy has sent you a message . ]

“…What’s wrong with her?”

[Why did you decline my request, Extra7?]

[You’re the strongest human I’ve ever met . ]

[Accept my request . ]

[Don’t decline my request . ]

“Is she crazy?”

[Accept my request right this moment . I haven’t lost completely yet . ]

[Answer me . Don’t test my patience . ]

[Don’t make me wait . ]

I took off the helmet without replying .

It was then .

Whish—

I received a ‘signal’ from the Tower of Wish .

It came from [Tomer’s Crystal Ball] that I had put inside my Stigma .

**

[Tower of Wish — 8F Crevon]

After I spent some time with Evandel, I returned to Crevon with Jin Sahyuk who had contacted me yesterday .

“Why did we come here again?” Jin Sahyuk asked me, walking down the hallway of Tomer’s mansion .

“I think Tomer wants to talk to me about something . ”

And while I was here, I planned to deliver the finished robe to Medea .

“…Ah, why did you text me yesterday?” I asked back .

Jin Sahyuk leered at me and said, “You said you’d stay by my side for half a year . It hasn’t been half a year yet . ”

“…Yeah?”

Startled by the fact that Jin Sahyuk had been keeping track, I quickened my pace and arrived at Tomer’s office .

Tok, Tok—

Tomer answered as soon as I knocked .

—Come in .

I opened the door and went in .

Kiik— With a screeching sound, the wooden door swung open .

Tomer was sitting in a chair, all alone in an office that was more modest than I remembered .

“Welc- Oh? Well, if it isn’t the former Knight Commander!”

“She’s with me . Is that okay?”

“Yeah . Sit down,” Tomer said and pointed at a chair .

I sat down .

“So?”

“So- what?”

“…Why did you call me?”

“Ah . ”

Tomer’s face stiffened at my question . She looked at me then Jin Sahyuk and said in a low voice, “I wanted to speak to you about Descent, and also about the prophecy . ”

“…Prophecy?”

“Yeah . It comes from the administrator of Crevon… . ”

Tomer showed me a piece of paper . There were only two sentences written across it .

[An enormous calamity shall descend upon the outside world . ]

[The inside and the outside must unite as one in order to overcome this ordeal . ]

I widened my eyes . The tip of Tomer’s mouth slanted upward .

“The queen wants to speak to you… about the prophecy . ”

“Queen? You mean Araha?”

“…Hey, watch your mouth . ”

Tomer frowned .

I smiled bitterly and restructured my question .

“What does Her Majesty wish to speak to me about?”

“The second sentence sounds tricky . The part where it says ‘the inside and the outside must unite as one . ’”

The inside and the outside must unite as one . It was a very simple sentence, and an idea naturally crossed my mind .

‘Temporary Descent of everyone from the Tower of Wish to fight against the devil and the Demon Realm Transformation . ’

“…Yeah, I get that, but why did the queen pick me? I’m not really famous here . ”

“How should I know? But listen to me carefully . Araha is a tyrant . ”

“Araha? Are you sure you can call the queen by her name?”

“I’m allowed,” Tomer replied and took out a pen, “Now, listen carefully, because I’m about to tell you the dos and don’ts… . ”

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