Chapter 52

Chapter 2. End (2)

"What?"

An unexpected statement.

Yeon-woo's eyes widened slightly.

But Kan shrugged, as if to say, "What's the big deal?"

"In fact, while you were causing a ruckus, I had a serious talk with Doil. We can't go to G-Block in this state. Even if we did, we wouldn't maintain our ranking and would be devoured by the lower ranks."

Doil chimed in.

"So, we decided to give up on this round cleanly and aim for the next opportunity. After all, it's meaningless unless we're in the top two."

Yeon-woo nodded.

Those who pass the tutorial in first place receive significant rewards.

That was also the reason why he had been desperately accumulating merit points.

Kan and Doil seemed to have aimed for the same thing.

However, a question arose.

"But can you give up a round and try again?"

"Huh? Didn't you know? Originally, many players challenge the tutorial multiple times until they qualify to enter the tower."

"..."

Kan's eyes seemed to say, "Isn't that common knowledge?"

Yeon-woo couldn't say anything.

His younger brother hadn't mentioned this, so he had always thought the tutorial could only be attempted once in a lifetime.

'This guy, really.'

In the end, Yeon-woo had gone through unnecessary hardships.

But.

A chuckle.

'Still, it was fun.'

He didn't regret it.

The tutorial doesn't open at fixed intervals.

It opens when the tower wants it to.

So, no one knew how long they would have to wait for the next one.

'I could also build my character and met some decent people.'

Under the mask, the corners of Yeon-woo's eyes curved slightly.

"So, you want me to take this?"

"Better than just throwing it away, right? Besides—"

Kan's lips curled up.

"Since you're the one, I think you might punch those annoying faces of Pant and Edora. Hehehe!"

Doil clicked his tongue from the side.

"Bro. Do you know?"

"What?"

"You look really ugly right now."

"Shut up, you blackguard."

"Because you can't do it yourself, you're just trying to pass it to Brother Cain. Anyway, your character."

"Shut up, man. I have to do it this way to feel better, what can I do?"

Yeon-woo's eyes sparkled as he watched the two bickering.

A name he had heard and seen many times.

A name that always topped the tutorial rankings.

And.

'The ones who must be defeated in G-Block.'

They were also the ones who had captured Akasha's snake together.

"What kind of people are those two?"

"Them?"

Kan pondered for a moment before answering.

"Monsters."

Kan, who was always busy joking, was serious at this moment.

"I tried to overcome them many times, but I couldn't. They are monsters."

From Kan's grinding teeth, the emotion he read was 'inferiority complex.'

Yeon-woo couldn't grasp what kind of beings Pant and Edora were.

From what he knew, Kan was definitely skilled, to the point where it was strange for him to be in the tutorial.

If Kan felt inferior and called them monsters, what kind of skills did they have?

Kan ground his teeth and then curled one corner of his mouth.

"So, use this to take first place. Then we can say we gave you the win. How good is that? Hee!"

Yeon-woo chuckled at Kan's self-assuredness and pocketed the item.

"Alright. I'll do my best for your share too."

"Right, right. That's the spirit. The camaraderie, friendship, and sportsmanship that emerge in competition. Ah! This is exactly the picture I've been dreaming of!"

"Shut up."

Kan flipped off the smirking Doil and then said to Yeon-woo.

"Anyway, do your best until the end, bro."

Yeon-woo nodded and stood up.

He took out Hargan's Crown from his pocket and put it on his head.

A ridiculous sight with a mask and a crown.

Kan and Doil laughed from the side, and Yeon-woo joined in.

It might look funny, but he felt more confident than ever.

And.

After a long laugh, he turned around.

Only two days were left.

Only one block remained.

With little time left, he had to hurry.

The timer was still ticking down.

[28:43:11_90]

* * *

[20:02:33_76]

The hidden piece required for Hargan's Crown was hidden in the nest of the spiky hedgehogs, deep underground.

Yeon-woo followed the instructions of Kan and Doil, defeated the spiky hedgehogs one by one, and faced the boss monster in the final room.

[15:55:41_82]

The creature was strong.

Almost as strong as Akasha's snake.

Without the strategy of Hargan's Crown, he might have been buried in the nest or eaten by the boss monster.

But after a long battle, Yeon-woo finally brought the creature down.

Thud!

He finally pulled out the sword embedded in a large rock.

Vigrid.

The final card that Kan and Doil believed could surpass the Pant siblings.

And.

Yeon-woo slung the sword on his back and crossed the boundary to the final block.

[12:01:38_26]

It was just one day before the tutorial ended.

* * *

"Oho! No matter how many times I see it, this person is truly a remarkable greedy one. After devouring Akasha's snake and the Arangdan, he has now obtained Vigrid?"

Eveke clapped his hands and rejoiced as he looked at the screen in front of him.

A player who joined the tutorial a week late and 'as if waiting for it' monopolized the hidden pieces, ultimately even destroying the Arangdan.

He was a truly amazing existence.

How could such a person exist?

And at this moment, when Yeon-woo entered the final G-Block.

With only 12 hours left, what kind of spectacle would he provide?

Eveke was so excited waiting that his heart was pounding.

"And such truly interesting things shine the most when I'm the only one who knows about them."

Eveke lightly tapped the air and began to designate Yeon-woo's detailed records as 'Class 1' at a rapid pace.

A security level that even the highest-ranking administrators couldn't access.

Recently, it was said that some administrators had abandoned their duties and were privately trading with ordinary players.

This needed to be securely sealed to avoid any trouble.

After blocking all access, Eveke folded his hands and rested his chin on them.

His eyes remained fixed on the screen.

* * *

[You have passed F-Block in solo play.]

[You have achieved an accomplishment that few can easily accomplish. Additional merit points are provided.]

[You have obtained 3,000 merit points.]

[You have obtained an additional 2,000 merit points.]

[Your health and mana are restored.]

[All abnormal statuses are restored.]

[You have entered the final block of the tutorial, G-Block.]

Whoosh!

As the light dissipated, a new scene was revealed. Yeon-woo was floating on a marble floor in the middle of the sky.

The marble floor was covered with endless stairs leading to the sky, as if inviting him to come.

And beyond the stairs.

On a vast stage floating above the clouds, intense energy waves were surging.

Bang! Boom!

Although it was unclear what was happening there,

it was evident that many strong players were gathered.

This was the final stage of G-Block.

'Finally, I've made it here.'

Yeon-woo's eyes sparkled as he began to climb the stairs.

Suddenly, a new message appeared.

[You are starting the trials of G-Block.]

[You have successfully passed through the six blocks, proving that you are a challenger the tower needs. However, the tower still demands more merit points and proof of qualification from the challengers.

Here, you can defeat other challengers and steal their merit points. Face as many challengers as possible and accumulate as many merit points as you can to prove your worth.

The higher the merit points you accumulate, the higher the rank you achieve, and the greater the rewards you will receive.]

The content of G-Block was very simple.

Reaching G-Block meant you had already proven yourself sufficiently.

It meant you had the skills to be recognized by the tower.

But that wasn't enough to become a god.

To become a god, you had to be far superior to others, filled with greed and ambition, and never stagnate.

Therefore, in G-Block, you could take the merit points of your opponents through duels.

While E-Block and F-Block were similar due to the emblem battles, G-Block more openly required confrontation between players.

The top players gathered in one place.

Naturally, tension would arise among them.

G-Block could be simply thought of as a battle royale. A system where the winner takes everything from the loser.

This made the competition for rankings among players intense, and lower-ranked players often formed alliances to bring down the higher-ranked ones...

...But it wasn't just chaos. If you faced other players and lost strength or were ambushed and lost merit points, it would be a big problem.

Therefore, this place was a battlefield of intense mind games among players.

His younger brother had summarized G-Block in two words.

Battle Royale.

And the other one.

'Asura Field.'

A place where chaotic battles among top players took place.

'But because of this, the rankings change endlessly, and it's a place where you can aim for a final comeback.'

Thud!

As he climbed the last step, a vast stage was revealed.

And at that moment.

The players on the stage turned their attention to him.

"What, who's that guy?"

"I thought it was a Blood Sword or a Fox Tail. What kind of weirdo is this?"

"I heard the Blood Sword and Fox Tail retired. Is that true?"

"That's something we'll find out later. Since he showed up so casually with the tutorial almost over, he doesn't seem like much."

There were about 70 players on the stage.

About 50 were in the middle of a battle, and the remaining 20 were gathered in the safety zone on the outskirts, either injured or having given up.

The players who showed interest in Yeon-woo's unexpected appearance were those in the safety zone.

The stage of G-Block was divided into two main areas.

The safety zone on the outskirts where players could rest and gather their thoughts.

And the battle zone in the center where players could steal each other's merit points.

The players in the safety zone were generally satisfied with their rankings or focused on qualifying to enter the tower.

There was no need to pay attention to them.

So, Yeon-woo ignored their chatter and observed the situation in the battle zone at the center of the stage.

Thud!

"Hey, you have the nerve to look elsewhere in front of me? I'm really embarrassed that I didn't recognize you earlier. Hahaha!"

The battle zone was uniquely formed with about 50 players surrounding one man and one woman.

Or, more accurately, the woman was standing at the back, crossing her arms.

The man was standing in front, protecting the woman, and pressuring the other players.

Just by his presence.

Whoosh!

"Like a monster...!"

"Damn! Is there really such a person in the tutorial? Is that even possible?"

Despite the overwhelming number of players surrounding them,

they were barely standing against the storm of energy that swept like a typhoon. They clenched their teeth, braced their legs, and struggled not to fall.

But the man found their efforts ridiculous. His loud laughter echoed throughout the stage.

Purple hair, golden eyes, a sharp fang protruding from his lower lip, and a towering build over two meters tall.

While most players, even those who emphasized mobility, wore light armor, the man was dressed in an ancient and mysterious outfit that seemed cumbersome to move in.

But the most noticeable feature was the horn standing straight from his right temple.

'Horned Tribe.'

One of the many non-human races in the tower, known as the 'embodiment of martial arts.'

The man, just by exuding his aura, already had the stage at his feet.

Yeon-woo thought he knew who this person was.

'Pant.'

The second-ranked player in the tutorial.

The wall that Kan and Doil tried so hard to overcome but could never surpass.

He took a step forward.

Boom!