Chapter 57

Chapter 7. End (7)

“……!”

“……!”

The newly updated tutorial ranking left all the players in a state of shock.

The scores before their eyes were simply unbelievable.

Had there ever been a player who achieved such scores before?

But as soon as Pant and Byram knelt, pushing all the other players aside, the result was already a foregone conclusion.

Monopoly (獨食).

To the players, Yeonwoo appeared as nothing more than a ravenous predator.

Even if Yeonwoo hadn't taken Edora's golden crystal, the first place was originally his.

At that moment.

Yeonwoo's figure began to blur, as he was about to use a stealth technique to disappear.

“Wait……!”

Edora tried to catch Yeonwoo, but he was already gone from that spot.

“Ah!”

Edora sighed in disappointment at losing Yeonwoo.

She stood there motionless.

The shock and aftereffects Yeonwoo had given her were immense. An indescribable emotion welled up in Edora's heart.

Her first defeat since entering the tutorial.

And it was a complete defeat.

Edora shivered slightly, her cheeks flushed, and she murmured softly.

“Cool……”

* * *

[00:00:00_05]

[00:00:00_04]

……

[00:00:00_00]

Yeonwoo lifted his head.

He had been hiding in a secluded place to meditate and rest, to recover from the aftereffects, but when he opened his eyes, he realized that so much time had passed.

[The tutorial has ended.]

[All players will be summoned to the waiting area. Please be cautious of the shock.]

The stage around Yeonwoo began to shake and blur, like a television screen with noise.

Instead, a vast open space appeared, with thousands of people standing there.

All of them were players who had participated in this tutorial.

They were momentarily confused by the sudden appearance in a crowded place but soon realized the tutorial had ended and sighed in relief.

This tutorial had been a continuous series of hardships and adversities.

They began to murmur as they noticed Yeonwoo standing alone to one side.

“That person……?”

“Yeah, he's the first place. The monopolizer.”

“He beat the Unicorns and Marcus, the swordsman? Unbelievable.”

“What's his real identity?”

Monopolizer.

After the incident in G-Quadrant, this nickname spread among the players as rumors about Yeonwoo began to circulate.

With no known name or identity, he had suddenly appeared in a grand manner.

The only known facts were that he wore a white mask and had a close relationship with Khan and Doyle.

This information came from a player who had accidentally witnessed Yeonwoo, Khan, and Doyle moving to Hargan's nest.

People were very curious about who Yeonwoo was.

However, no one had the courage to approach and speak to him.

They could only observe his actions from a distance.

Yeonwoo was glad that others didn't bother him.

Actually, he found it a bit tiring to receive so much attention.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have gone to G-Quadrant. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have received this much attention.’

Of course, he would have done the same even if he could go back in time.

The title of first place was essential for him.

‘The Key of Zeus. There’s no other way to obtain it.’

There were two places Yeonwoo had to visit once he entered the tower.

One was Artia's clan house.

And the other was.

‘The Treasury of Olympus.’

A place where the gods of the past stored their treasures.

The Key of Zeus was one of the twelve materials needed to open the treasury's door.

Thus, Yeonwoo had to go all out to secure first place.

Naturally, achieving first place would naturally draw attention and scrutiny.

And that scrutiny would only grow over time.

‘Secretly growing and secretly eliminating enemies is no longer feasible. If I reveal myself as Cain but keep Cha Yeonwoo as hidden as possible, that might be the only way.’

He believed that the path he would walk for a while would not be much different from the one Artia had taken.

Therefore, he had to get used to people's gazes, even if he didn't like them.

‘Anyway.’

Yeonwoo scanned his surroundings.

‘Did Khan and Doyle, in the end, go?’

He had thought they would retire immediately after he left, but it was a bit disappointing not to see them.

At that moment.

“Brother! It really is you!”

A young man appeared among the crowd.

A familiar face. Yul.

“You?”

Yeonwoo's eyes widened slightly.

He had thought Yul, like Khan and Doyle, would have retired immediately. It was surprising to see him still there.

Yul was breathing heavily, having run over in a hurry, but his face was full of smiles.

“I heard a new rookie had appeared. When I heard about the mask, I thought it might be you. And it really is you.”

Yeonwoo stared at Yul.

There was no longer any worry or malice on his face. The aura he exuded was different.

“Freyja's Garden, you found it.”

“Yes. I found it in the B-Quadrant waiting room by chance.”

Freyja's Garden was actually one of the hidden pieces.

However, it held no significant meaning for Yeonwoo, so he hadn't sought it out.

In Freyja's Garden, it was possible to make a contract with a spirit.

Yeonwoo had seen that Yul had the potential to be an excellent enchanter. If he could master spirit magic, he could achieve great results.

And it seemed his prediction was accurate.

Yeonwoo opened his Dragon Eye and examined Yul from head to toe.

Under the complexly intertwined lines, there was only an empty space.

The Yul before him was Yul, yet not Yul.

“Seems like you’ve made quite some progress. Did you encounter some good fortune?”

The spirit Yul had used to leave a thought form.

“Something like that. I met a teacher.”

“A teacher?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, he’s not like the Kaen guys. He’s really a great person.”

Yeonwoo had a vague idea of who Yul's 'teacher' might be.

Certainly, 'that person' wouldn't leave a talent like Yul alone.

‘Though I had intended for that to happen to some extent.’

Yul bowed slightly.

“So, before I go, I wanted to thank you. You’ve been a benefactor to me. I’m really, really grateful. Thanks to you, I could think differently and meet a great teacher.”

Yul straightened up and looked at Yeonwoo with a determined gaze.

“And. I’ll definitely come back to see you again someday.”

Yeonwoo nodded silently.

Yul's expression brightened.

Then.

Paaah-

The lines that formed Yul's thought form unraveled and disappeared.

Yeonwoo thought to himself.

Perhaps he was more deeply involved in the tower than he had initially thought.

The tower was such a place. Layers of cause and effect bound 'me' like chains, constraining and limiting, yet making 'me' whole.

And becoming a 'god' meant breaking those chains.

A fleeting thought from his brother's diary came to mind, but he shook his head to clear it.

Meanwhile.

The sky split open, and someone dropped down from the portal.

“Oho ho ho. To see everyone in such a clear state after a month, it’s truly a moving moment.”

Short stature. Tuxedo. A goblin with a monocle bowed politely.

“Hello. It’s been a while since I, Evilke, the tutorial manager, greeted you all.”

Evilke straightened up and scanned the players.

His eyes curved deeply behind the monocle.

“You all did a great job. This session was particularly impressive, with players showing remarkable wit, quick thinking, and a variety of situations. I sincerely hope you will continue to show such qualities as you climb the tower. Now, then.”

Evilke adjusted his monocle and smiled.

“I will announce the results.”

[Tutorial Ranking]

1st. Anonymous (510,590 Points)

2nd. Edora (60,000 Points)

3rd. Pant (20,200 Points)

4th. Byram (11,000 Points)

……

Deep sighs echoed from various places.

“Unbelievable, 510,000?”

“Crazy! Is that even possible?”

“I heard that top-ranking players usually score between 50,000 and 100,000 points.”

“What happened in G-Quadrant……?”

The players murmured in shock at the public scores.

The numbers were indeed shocking.

But Yeonwoo was also surprised.

‘Pant and Byram? They must have been hunting non-stop while I was away.’

He remembered that time was running out. The thought of them pushing themselves so hard made him chuckle.

Then, Yeonwoo noticed someone looking at him and turned his head slightly.

Edora was looking at him, tightly hugging the Demon Blade.

Their gazes met. Silence fell.

Then Edora smiled slightly.

Her lips moved slightly.

Congratulations.

Yeonwoo furrowed his brow, unable to understand what Edora was thinking.

Opening his Dragon Eye slightly, he saw that she was genuinely congratulating him.

‘Why?’

But it was strange because Edora had no reason to have a good impression of him, let alone any animosity.

Pant, who was standing next to her, was glaring at him with a fierce look.

But Yeonwoo's thoughts didn't last long.

Evilke was smiling and looking at Yeonwoo.

“Oho ho ho. ### has achieved 510,590 points, placing first. This is not only the highest score in this session but also the highest in the history of the tutorial. Naturally, the reward will be commensurate with this achievement.”

Fortunately, the name pointing to Yeonwoo was obscured by noise, making it unrecognizable.

At that moment.

A message appeared before Yeonwoo.

[Would you like to be listed in the Hall of Fame?]