······A gap more than twice over.
He clasped a mystery in his hands, one so unfathomable he couldn’t even guess how it was done, or what had been obtained.
‘Phantom.’
Phantom······.
That king who had been called the pinnacle of Pangaenia, yet had fallen.
After losing everything and crashing down, he was now thrashing about in desperation.
“What will you do?”
Master rose from his seat and looked out the window.
The tallest building on Wall Street.
Because its owner had just changed a moment ago.
‘This world is divided into those who rule, and those who are ruled.’
Step by step, Master was becoming a true king.
Interdimensional power that only the chosen could possess. It was only natural that the one standing at its summit would stand at the summit of this world.
‘I am the one who reigns. And the world ahead will be ruled only by those with ability.’
From here on, the world would change.
In a tumultuous way completely different from the changes before.
Players who could deal with the monsters of Pangaenia would become the masters of Earth.
The beginning.
Right now, when everything should have been perfect, Master was tasting the worst mood.
That the stake of Main Quest 5 had been pushed back by one step was quite fatal.
‘What should I do?’
But Phantom is already a fallen king.
He recognized the merit of smashing half the Demon Realm to pieces, but Master and the other top-tier players did not fear the Demon King.
Rather, they were thinking of using the Demon Realm and the Demon King to establish a foothold in Pangaenia, and scheme to become kings of Earth.
Above all, Phantom was dead.
If you die and become a player, there is a limit to how strong you can get.
And Phantom was famous for having no forces to speak of, so how could he ever close the gap with them?
‘I wanted to capture him alive and wring out information.’
Master had intended to capture the fallen king alive, and extract the information he knew.
But even after searching for several years, he could never catch him.
Meaning there was a limit to Master’s power alone.
“······We must convene the ‘Round Table Conference.’”
“I will contact the 8 Heroes, Master.”
The shadow vanished.
Master slowly looked out the window again.
‘He’s starting to get on my nerves.’
Little by little, he was getting on his nerves.
The movements of that fallen king.
So it seemed necessary to put things right.
***
《There are no more rewards that can be obtained from the Tower.》
《The Tower’s reward list is replaced by the reward lists of the Pantheon Constellations.》
《You may choose one reward out of 100 lists.》
The first line meant that since he had obtained the greatest mystery the Tower could give, there was no replacement reward that could exist.
‘A replacement of rewards?’
But he couldn’t help tilting his head at what came next.
Replaced by the Constellations’ reward lists?
Yet as soon as the list surfaced, he understood at once.
《Hourglass of the Clockwork Constellation》
《Ring of the Constellation of Adventure》
《Four-Leaf Clover of the Constellation of Luck》
《Spear of the Constellation of Battle》
《Armor of the Eternal Moon Constellation》
《Invention of the Constellation of Alchemy》
《Hair of the Nameless Constellation》
《Weapon Blueprint of the Blacksmith Constellation》
······.
A hundred reward lists, each bearing the name of a Constellation, appeared.
‘I can’t tell what the exact rewards are.’
But no related abilities or options were shown.
Meaning he had to choose purely by looking at the Constellation names.
‘There’s no need to choose this right away.’
It was something to think over.
A reward a Constellation put forward under its own name.
Each and every one would surely be a treasure that could shake heaven and earth.
He couldn’t choose rashly.
‘More importantly.’
He had already gained a lot.
First, he had secured 300 hours of Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule for sure.
His fame also rose by 500. Considering honor-related quests usually give only 10 to 30, 500 was a number that made you gasp out loud.
And most importantly.
‘Eternal Randolph.’
An out-of-spec-grade mystery, Eternal Randolph!
When it had been unique-grade, only my name was attached, but when it was elevated beyond the standard, the prefix ‘eternal’ was added.
Since the prefix ‘eternal’ was also something I was seeing for the first time, I couldn’t help but be interested.
A mystery without color, without scent, without form.
But I could clearly confirm the mystery given to me.
【Eternal Randolph (out-of-standard)】
★ A mystery granted to one who has surpassed all standards.
★ Able to permanently destroy mysteries of grade Eternal Randolph or lower (destroys a manifested mystery, limited to once per target)
★ Indestructible (cannot be destroyed even by the hammer of the god of destruction.)
★ Interference-proof (blocks all influences that could interfere with the mystery.)
★ Permanent duration (persists in all situations.)
★ Hidden trait ‘Eternal Randolph’ added
For a mystery, the phrases were long if you called them long, short if you called them short.
‘······This is insane.’
But the contents were anything but ordinary.
I froze on the spot, to the point I could feel my heartbeat in my face.
‘An ability to destroy an opponent’s mystery.’
And the fact that it could destroy grades below Eternal Randolph meant that even unique-grade mysteries could be erased forever if I so chose.
On top of that, it had all three of the so-called “top three options of unique items,” indestructible, interference-proof, permanent duration.
‘Even a hidden trait was added.’
It was the moment my hidden traits went from 13 to 14.
Even for me, it was the first time a hidden trait that normally increased with talent had been added by a mystery.
Options with nothing to throw away.
The strongest mystery that even Knight King Wilhelm could not obtain!
It really was the strongest.
So much so there was no other way to describe it.
For a long while, I savored and enjoyed the lingering afterglow of that awe.
Because I had never seen anything like it.
Even after gathering eight unique-grade items while playing the game, the emotion I felt then was nothing compared to how long this aftertaste lasted.
‘It’s time to leave.’
After savoring it for about ten minutes, I started moving slowly.
My Stamina and every other state had recovered anyway as I leveled up.
Having swept through all of Mystery Hall, there was no reason to stay.
I stepped into the created warp.
And then.
‘······Four Great Masters?’
I came face to face with the Four Great Masters gathered before the Tower.
***
To think the last entrant was merely the King of Corpse Crows.
The most shabby-looking among the entrants.
The Four Great Masters couldn’t help feeling puzzled.
All 100 entrants had come out, yet there wasn’t a single being they would call a Transcendent Species.
And yet.
“Hmm······.”
“I don’t know.”
They couldn’t come to any conclusion about that King of Corpse Crows.
The Four Great Masters all tilted their heads.
They couldn’t get any proper read, whether he was strong or weak.
One thing was clear, that King of Corpse Crows possessed something that made even them wary and uncertain.
“Th-that crown is······.”
“Isn’t it the crown made when the rings fused together?”
“Ah.”
Among the monsters’ murmurs, there was the answer.
Because the crown the Corpse Crow wore was exactly the same as the one forged when the Tower’s five rings merged.
“Are you saying a lousy Corpse Crow like that surpassed my mystery?”
But not everyone accepted it.
Imoogi lifted his head again.
He couldn’t accept that he wasn’t the one who had caused this phenomenon and situation.
Imoogi threateningly spread his legendary-grade mystery, Illusory Dragon’s Mist.
“Behold! My majesty! I am the master of a mystery that a mere Corpse Crow can never follow!”
Dignified, momentum overflowing.
He strode right up to the Corpse Crow and personally showed the difference in rank.
“Move aside, caw.”
At that moment.
Imoogi’s mystery, Illusory Dragon’s Mist, disappeared.
“W-what······?!”
Imoogi had no choice but to panic.
It wasn’t that the mystery was deactivated.
······The mystery was destroyed.
But he couldn’t understand.
A mystery is something others cannot interfere with.
It was a truth that could never be destroyed.
That’s why, to monsters, a mystery is proof of existence itself.
A realm beyond simply raising stats and granting options, an unchanging existence.
And yet in one instant, the mystery was destroyed.
He hadn’t even done anything else.
The moment the King of Corpse Crows fixed it in his gaze, the mystery vanished forever.
“Mm······!”
Seeing that, the Four Great Masters stiffened.
Because they too were certain the mystery had been destroyed.
Common sense shattered, and in a single instant, the scales of balance collapsed.
“H-how did you destroy my mystery······!”
Imoogi was still panicking.
But that panic soon turned into fury.
There is only one mystery you can obtain from Mystery Hall.
Monsters challenge Mystery Hall with everything they have.
No matter how hard-won that mystery was.
“I’ll kill y—······!”
Crack!
Imoogi couldn’t finish his words.
In an instant, he had turned to stone.
Watching that, the King of Corpse Crows said,
“Looks like there’s one with a brain that works, caw.”
Arrogantly.
Even with the Four Great Masters right in front of him, not yielding an inch.
As if he were saying he might have erased every domain around here if they hadn’t brought him.
Yet those words didn’t sound arrogant.
‘Majesty.’
When the King of Corpse Crows spoke, that kind of majesty settled over him.
Something you couldn’t ignore.
Something you mustn’t ignore.
A strange sensation they hadn’t felt even when facing the White King.
If all of the Four Great Masters felt it, it wasn’t an illusion.
But one thing was certain.
‘He’s not an enemy.’
That didn’t make him an ally either.
What was he?
What on earth was that Corpse Crow?
But what the Corpse Crow said next was utterly shocking.
“Bring the White King, caw. You’re not of the same rank as me, caw.”
***
The moment I left Mystery Hall, the Four Great Masters were there.
And seeing the countless monsters, I could be sure.
That they were gathered here because of me.
The Tower itself must have announced my challenge.
A situation completely different from when I first entered the city.
【Lv.12】
I thought the Four Great Masters’ level was 11, but it was 12.
Looks like they leveled up during that time.
The problem was that every one of the Four Great Masters was on a different plane from ordinary monsters.
Super elite raid boss monster!
A difference of one level was more than a difference of one star.
‘If we collide, I’ll be insta-killed.’
I would probably die in less than a second.
I hadn’t expected this, but I couldn’t retreat either.
If I retreat here, I get neither porridge nor rice. First impressions are that important.
‘Now that it’s come to this.’
I had no choice but to see it through.
Luck was on my side, too.
I destroyed Imoogi’s mystery and planted a sense of caution.
Besides, the Four Great Masters can never grasp me.
Fourteen hidden traits.
And I had a hunch what one of the effects of ‘Eternal Randolph’ among them was.
‘Majesty of Species.’
It imbues words with majesty.
Its effect was such that monsters of ordinary standards couldn’t defy it.
Even the Four Great Masters, daringly so.
‘······I was determined never to meet him, but.’
And so, now.
I was in the White King’s hall with the Four Great Masters.
The White King I swore never to meet again.
“White King is coming out.”
With the Great Earth Dragon’s words, as we faced the towering throne.
The Four Great Masters, transformed into half-human, half-demon forms, knelt one by one.
······Now there really was no turning back.
White King
Like riding a tiger.
I was already on the tiger’s back.
With the momentum taken, I couldn’t climb down, and once spoken, I couldn’t take it back.
Only one thing remained.
I had to try with death-or-life resolve.
‘So this is the final boss.’
······No matter how I tried to act composed, I couldn’t help my insides burning away.
If not for the Heart of the Iron-Blooded Monarch, I might be retching by now.
That much pressure.
I succeeded in deceiving the Four Great Masters, but the White King is on a different dimension.
Still, the fact they brought me all the way before the White King meant they felt wary of me.
At least at their level, I had proven I was a being they could not judge.