Chapter 53

Chapter 3. Conclusion (3)

Despite being just a simple foot stomp, a thunderous boom echoed loudly.

The players, overwhelmed by the intensified aura, flinched and retreated. The weaker ones turned pale.

Just a few hours ago, they had gathered to discuss how to combine their forces and take down the Pant siblings, who they believed had the most public points.

However, the power Pant exuded was far more formidable than they had anticipated.

Or perhaps, the information they had was accurate all along.

It was just that the information they had was from before the tutorial.

The Pant siblings might have grown stronger as they passed through the tutorial. What were originally monsters had become even more formidable.

"What are you doing? Didn't you come to catch me? Then come on. Don't just stand there. Or."

Pant grinned ferociously, baring his sharp fangs.

It was as if he were a fierce predator selecting his prey.

"I'll come to you."

Kwaang!

Pant kicked the ground forcefully and shot forward like a cannonball.

"Damn it!"

"Stop him!"

Even though the players were pale with fear, they quickly formed a cohesive formation.

Skills activated one after another, creating a dazzling display of effects above their heads.

Magic circles spread across the area, stacking powerful buffs multiple times.

Players wearing heavy armor or carrying shields rushed forward, bracing for impact.

And they clashed.

Kwurung!

Pant's magical power was immense.

Every time he swung his fist, the air tore apart, and thunderous booms echoed. Wherever his fist struck, storms raged, shaking the ground repeatedly.

The players, who seemed precarious like candles in the wind, held up relatively well against the assault.

But that was only "relatively."

Pant repeatedly pierced, shattered, and trampled the wall of players.

Every time he stomped, the wall trembled, and every time he swung his fist, players were flung out.

Kwakwak!

With each explosion, the aura surrounding Pant intensified, overwhelming the surroundings.

It didn't seem like it would take long for all the players to be defeated.

Most importantly,

Pant was enjoying the fight.

As if it were a fun game.

'Strong. It wouldn't be strange if he had killed the Akasha snake.'

Yeonwoo recalled the Akasha snake's corpse he had discovered initially.

No, he probably consumed the inner dan as well, so his true strength must be even greater.

'Trying to catch a guy like that? It's absurd. The difference is too great. Too great.'

Pant was dominating the stage.

Only two people had managed to stay out of the battle zone.

A tall man standing at the back, crossing his arms and issuing commands as if directing the players' strategy.

He wore three swords of various sizes at his waist, which was his distinctive feature.

The aura he exuded cut through Pant's aura, boosting each player's strength and morale.

The buff magic circles on the ground seemed to be his doing as well.

'A ruler. Or, more accurately, a ruler candidate?'

Rulers were those who could naturally command and lead multiple players, and even organize an army.

Most outstanding rankers and clan leaders were rulers.

The Vampire King, the original owner of Vatol's vampire sword, and the leaders of the eight great clans were examples of such rulers.

The swordsman commanding the players against Pant seemed to possess such qualities.

'But he hasn't fully blossomed yet.'

And,

The other person was the woman behind Pant.

She stood proudly, hugging a large tachi (Japanese long sword) that was taller than herself.

She had a beautiful appearance but a cold demeanor, like ice.

Especially, the sharp horn protruding from her left temple added to the menacing feel.

'Edora.'

Pant's younger sister and the top-ranked player in the tutorial.

Kan had described Edora like this:

"Pant is strong. Insanely strong. It feels like facing a very high mountain. But Edora... is a bit different. She seems softer than Pant, but her depth is impossible to gauge. It's like looking into the deep sea. That's why she's more frightening. You can see the height of a mountain by raising your head, but the deep sea has no end."

The fear of the unknown depth.

Yeonwoo could understand why Kan had said that.

'She's hiding something. Something large and fierce. What is it?'

As Yeonwoo narrowed his eyes and looked at Edora,

Edora, who had been watching the battle between Pant and the players, suddenly turned her head and met Yeonwoo's gaze.

Her calm eyes fixed on Yeonwoo.

Or rather, something within her eyes was looking at Yeonwoo.

Smile!

Then, Edora's cold lips curved into a slight smile.

As if she found it amusing.

'I've been caught.'

Yeonwoo realized.

Just as he had seen something from Edora, she had seen something from him.

'She saw me.'

In the end, Yeonwoo also smiled, just like Edora.

It seemed that his spying had reached its limit.

He wanted to observe the situation a bit longer before stepping in.

'If so,'

There was no choice but to step in.

Yeonwoo took out a large pouch from his pocket.

A pouch filled with tokens.

The eyes of the players in the safe zone naturally turned to him.

Greed filled their eyes.

If they could take all of those, they could instantly reverse their rankings.

But attacks were not allowed in the safe zone.

If they didn't follow the rules, they could be forcibly expelled from the stage.

Even items left on the ground could not be touched if they had an owner.

So, they watched to see what Yeonwoo would do.

Suddenly, Yeonwoo flipped the pouch and started pouring the tokens onto the ground.

Thud!

"What is that? Why is he pouring them out?"

"Is he going to retire because he's scared of Pant?"

"Damn. If he's going to throw away those precious things, he should give them to me."

To the players, it looked like a crazy act.

But as the number of tokens increased and the pile on the ground grew, they could no longer mock him.

"Insane! How many is he throwing away?"

"How many? Ten thousand? Twenty thousand, no?"

The stage became noisy.

As the murmurs grew louder, players who had not paid much attention to Yeonwoo started to focus on him.

Pant, who had been enjoying the fight, suddenly turned his head. Even Edora's eyes, which had been watching Yeonwoo, sparkled.

When over 3,000 tokens had all fallen to the ground,

As the tokens at his feet began to glow,

Yeonwoo muttered,

"Combine."

Whoosh!

Thousands of tokens started to disappear rapidly.

A golden light swirled around Yeonwoo and merged into a golden crystal.

At the same time, a large message appeared in the air.

[The tokens collected from E and F sectors have been converted to public points and added to your existing public points.]

[The tutorial ranking has been updated.]

All the players' eyes turned to the message.

And when the ranking was announced, a silent scream echoed through the G sector.

Even Edora's calm eyes showed a ripple of emotion.

[Tutorial Ranking]

1st. Anonymous (109,984 Points)

2nd. Edora (68,230 Points)

...

It was the first time since the start of this session that the top ranking had been overturned.

"Unbelievable...!"

People who saw Yeonwoo were shocked.

Even though his name was not revealed, it was easy to guess who it was.

But Yeonwoo didn't stop there.

He attached the golden crystal, symbolizing public points, to his waist and reached for the sheath on his back.

Then he slowly drew the sword.

Swoosh!

The clear sound of the sword being drawn rang out.

A sword of about 70 centimeters, neither too short nor too long.

It looked rough on the surface.

But as the sword was gradually drawn, strange characters carved in silver powder on the blade began to shimmer mysteriously.

A blue aura that had been swirling around the blade also seeped out and rotated around Yeonwoo.

Whoosh!

The white light and blue aura mixed, forming a powerful whirlwind.

And,

When he finally drew the sword and let it hang down,

Kwakwak!

The whirlwind expanded endlessly, covering the entire safe zone.

"What is this?"

"What is that artifact?"

The players moved away from Yeonwoo, fearing they might be swept up in the whirlwind.

Their eyes were filled with shock, disbelief, and suspicion.

They had never heard of such an artifact existing in the tutorial.

But Yeonwoo was calmly smiling in the center of the storm.

[Vigrid]

Category: ???

Rank: ???

Description: In the distant Silver Age, long forgotten, there was a holy sword that any great hero would covet. However, after passing through the hands of many heroes, the sword absorbed too much of their blood and eventually became infamous for harming its owners, transforming into a cursed sword.

It was sealed deep in the world and only emerged after a long time.

Even though three eras have passed, the holy sword still cannot shake off the curse of the cursed sword and return to its original form.

To return to its original form, it must go through special conditions to completely cleanse the curse of the cursed sword.

* Sword's Blessing

The deep resentment of the heroes embedded in Vigrid turns the holy sword's blessing into a curse.

The more enemies faced, or the stronger they are, the more the ghostly aura (鬼氣) on the blade amplifies, increasing the probability of dealing critical attacks.

* Blessing Infection

When dealing the final blow to an enemy, simultaneously curses all nearby targets.

Cursed targets enter an 'infected' state, significantly reducing their defense and movement speed.

* ???

Deactivated (Sealed)

* ???

Deactivated (Sealed)

**This artifact is 'Unique.' Only one exists in the tower, and it is completely owned by its owner. It cannot be traded or transferred to others.

**Most of its functions are sealed and can only be unlocked with certain qualifications or conditions.

Vigrid originally referred to a battlefield where heroes and transcendent beings clashed.

The hidden piece that Kan and Doyle tried to obtain was an excellent weapon worthy of such a name.

A holy sword that had been active in the Heroic Age, long before the tower was built.

Although it had degenerated into a cursed sword and most of its functions were sealed, the remaining functions were still incredibly powerful.

The first option, Sword's Blessing,

This significantly increases attack power when facing multiple enemies, allowing for efficient combat.

Moreover, it had the effect of spreading ghostly aura to confuse and demoralize enemies.

For players who had to face many monsters, it was a tempting option.

But most importantly, the more powerful the opponent, the greater the effect.

Kan and Doyle focused most on this option.

'The stronger Pant and Edora are, the more Vigrid's power will amplify. It would allow me to catch up with them instantly.'

Kan had tried to catch up with the Pant siblings, who were far beyond his reach, through such a shortcut.

'Geez! If you look at that weapon alone, it's a cheat, a cheat. It's so powerful that even my dragon sword can't match it... If I use it, I might even turn the tutorial on its head.'

Kan smiled bitterly as he described Vigrid.

'But I realized something this time. A shortcut is just a shortcut. If I use it, I might see good results immediately, but I'll never progress. I'll be stuck in place. A tool outside the body, a tool outside the body.'

A tool outside the body.

A proverb meaning that no matter how excellent an artifact is, it ultimately becomes just an object once it leaves your hands.

Kan knew the advantages of Vigrid but also realized the disadvantages it would bring.

Even if he could defeat Pant and Edora with Vigrid, he would eventually be caught up again.

And he would never become stronger because he couldn't escape the advantages given by Vigrid.

He gained this realization not long ago.

After the conflict with Build, Kan pondered endlessly.

The difference between himself and Build.

He was also a renowned swordsman, but he couldn't defeat Build.

He pondered for a long time why there was such a difference.

The conclusion he reached was one.

There was a huge gap in skill between him and Build.

While Build had accumulated countless practical experiences in the tower, Kan had relied on his meager skills and had very little experience.

So, to overcome this gap, he had to start over from the beginning.

That's why Kan gave up on the idea of Vigrid and cleanly let go of the last remnants of his attachment by passing it to Yeonwoo.

Thanks to this,

Yeonwoo was able to obtain the legendary weapon Vigrid.

The best hidden piece in the tutorial, which even his younger brother had not fully grasped.